The Hunt
by myfreudianslip
Summary: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: The Hunt (1/4)

**Pairing**: NaruSasuNaru

**Disclaimer**: Don't own.

**Summary**: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.

……

The first time it happened, everyone brushed it off as trivial.

It was only three days later, when Naruto found a sobbing Kurenai at his doorstep that he realized that something was seriously wrong.

'Minako's still not turned up?' he asked, one hand firm on her elbow, as he lead her to Iruka's kebab stall. 'It's been three days, hasn't it?'

Kurenai used her dupatta to blow her nose. 'She's never been gone this long before. She usually doesn't…I mean, she's always clinging on to me…she doesn't even go out to play with the other kids as much as her brother. I was the one always pushing her to go make friends…Oh God!' She broke down again, collapsing into one of Iruka's wooden stools.

Naruto refused to panic. Children not turning up at the end of the day wasn't that uncommon a story. This was a slum, kids disappeared all the time. When they were twelve, he and Kiba had gone off to the city before the cold settled in, and spent a week there trying to steal enough clothes for the winter. Iruka had been slightly hysterical when he came back, but the incident was forgotten in a month, and he had sneaked off into the city plenty of times since.

'It's not your fault,' He told her reassuringly, as Iruka placed a half baked clay cup of Masala chai before her on the table. 'She'll turn up. They always do.'

Kurenai's fingers shook as she took a sip of her tea. 'She's never left the slum before. And she's only five.'

Naruto tried not to let his discomfort show as he felt Iruka's worried gaze upon him.

'Look,' he told her, smiling as broadly as he could. 'If she doesn't turn up this week, I'll round up all the guys and go look for her. We'll search the entire city. And if we still don't find her, we'll go to the police,' he tried not to grimace at the thought of walking into a police station only to be sneered at, before they tossed him out within seconds. 'But, I'm sure she'll turn up in another day or two.'

One week later, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, Neji, and about a dozen other men set out to look for not one, but two missing children, for Asuma's son Raidou who had Polio, and never went anywhere that was more ten minutes away from his father's sweet shop, failed to come back home one day.

***

Naruto knew he had to buy Konohamaru gulab jamuns if he was to ever get any answers out of the boy.

'C'mon, 'he said, 'I bought you a whole plate. Now I have work extra hours at Iruka's to get back the money. Spill already.'

He watched in growing irritation as the boy blissfully slurped at the sweet juice on the plate, hands batting lazily at the flies which attempted to do the same. 'Whaddya wanna know?'

'Have you guys seen anything suspicious?' Naruto asked, urgently. 'Any new characters? You people play on the maidan all evening, you would've noticed if there was someone strange about.'

Konohamaru licked his finger, looking thoughtful. After about half a minute, he said, 'nope.'

Naruto exploded. 'So WHY did you say that you might know something important?' Then understanding dawned, cold and clear. 'You little shit, you just wanted me to buy you those sweets didn't you?'

Konohamaru shifted guiltily.

'Three kids have disappeared!' Naruto said, disgusted. 'Three kids your age, and you don't give a flying fuck just because they're not the ones you play cricket with!'

It didn't help that a hush had fallen around them at the first mention of the missing children. A group of women carrying clothes to be washed in the river stared at them as they as they passed by. A crow landed on the bench Naruto was sitting on and pecked at the remains of a jalebi, scattering an indignant group of wood ants who had staked their claim on it first.

He didn't notice Asuma walking up behind him, and started when he heard him speak.

'Konohamaru,' Asuma said. 'I beg you, please look out for your friends. Raidou was my only son, and more parents shouldn't have to go through what I'm going through right now.'

By now Konohamaru was looking seriously embarrassed. Naruto didn't feel much sorry for him.

'I'll keep a look out.' He mumbled. 'I promise.'

Then he pocketed the last of the gulab jamun and slid off the bench.

Naruto felt like burying his face in his hands and crying. He felt the bench shift as Asuma sat down next to him.

'The police?' he asked tentatively as though he already knew the answer.

Naruto snorted bitterly. 'At least we set a record this time. We lasted seven minutes in their goddamn station.'

Asuma wiped at the sticky mess Konohamaru had left on the table. 'Not like we actually expected any help from them. Naruto,' he paused, 'It couldn't be that they just wandered off, right?'

Naruto shook his head miserably. 'Look at the last one gone, Chiyo. He had gone off to Tsunade to get that herb medicine thingy she had prepared for her father. He reached Tsunade's, took the medicine, and never made it back home. If it was a simple case of gallivanting around the city, of all the times that he could have chosen to wander off, why would he do it when his father needed the medicine? I mean, he could have walked off just as well the next morning.'

Asuma wiped at his eyes with the back off his sleeve. 'Mira hasn't eaten anything for days.'

It was a pathetic. Konoha was a slum, and like all slums it was used to people walking in and out like a wave which never really left its mark. But for the dwellers, this stretch of uncertain land was the only home they knew. And for Naruto, that meant family. That meant family, and now things were going _wrong_ and _three kids_ had disappeared in _two_ weeks and people were getting _hurt_, and _weren't people supposed to protect their families_? Then why the fuck was he doing such a lousy job of it, then?

'Naruto,' a breathless voice announced the return of Konohamaru. 'Oi, Naruto, listen. There _is_ something. I forgot, listen.'

He stopped to catch his breath, while Naruto stopped the activity altogether.

'There's been this guy. About your height,' Konohamaru pointed at him. 'Hangs around the maidan all the time, creepy like, and stares at us playing. We don't pay much attention to him, you know, 'cause he's all weird, and never actually _says_ anything, but maybe he could be the one you're looking for?'

Naruto completely forgot to be angry with boy. He felt like hugging him.

Instead, he pressed, 'Can you tell me anything else about him? What does he look like?'

Konohamaru wrinkled his nose in distaste. 'Black hair. Black eyes. Really pale, like those prim types who have never kicked a ball in their lives, you know. Dresses like that too, all expensive.' Then almost as an afterthought, he added, looking particularly ferocious, 'Moegi thinks he's all _handsome_. Wants me to ask him to play with us. Gah, like he can pitch anything like me.'

In spite of the pounding in his ears, Naruto felt like snorting. It was no secret that Konohamaru had a huge thing for Moegi. The entire slum was planning their wedding already. All that was left was for Konohamaru to work up enough nerves to actually come close to doing anything, like, confessing.

'This guy,' he asked Konohamaru. 'Has he tried talking to any one of you?'

'No. Just stands there like a pussy.'

Naruto exhaled loudly. At least this was something.

Konohamaru eyed him shiftily. 'Does this get me another plate?'

***

Naruto sniffed sadly as he watched Sakura straighten the pleats of her sari. 'You don't know what you're missing out on.' He told her, temptingly.

'No, I really don't.' She turned and winked at him. 'What am I missing out on, Naruto?'

With great flourish, Naruto gestured at his own body. '_This_!'

Sakura rolled her kohl rimmed eyes. 'Bring me the cash, and I won't hesitate, honey.'

Naruto said, with great dignity. 'I'm not paying to sleep with a woman.'

Mistake. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, dangerously. 'Is that supposed to mean something, Naruto?'

Naruto hastily shook his head. He had been acquainted with Sakura's fist too many times to make any more careless slips. He had marks on his body to prove it. Just not the sort he would have desired to obtain from her.

Pouting, he flipped at a flower in Sakura's hair. 'One day, you'll give in.'

'Yeah sure,' Sakura said, pinching Naruto's hand and coolly watching him yelp. She was a woman of cold, cold blood. 'If you manage to get there before Lee, that is.'

Naruto nursed his abused finger and sighed. He knew his persistence was something which was made of epic, but next to Lee, he was a sad failure. Dinosaurs had sacrificed to Lee's perseverance.

Ino stuck her head around the curtain separating there rooms. 'Sakura, we'll be getting late. And Naruto, I'm telling Jiraiya to not let you in here without money any more.

Naruto grinned and blew the girl a kiss. 'You know how much you love me Ino, you don't have to fight so hard to resist it.'

Sakura turned to look at herself one more time in the ancient, cracked mirror propped up against the wall of her room. 'Yeah, I'm coming. See you Naruto.'

Naruto looked at her mournfully, 'You'll be careful, won't you? There are weird guys around.'

Sakura hesitated for a moment before reaching out, her bangles clinking loudly, and softly ruffling his hair. Naruto caught the cloying scent of her perfume, and beneath that, the headier scent of paan.

Ino snorted at them. 'Naruto, you schemer, I bet you said that just so she'd touch you.'

Naruto immediately arranged his features into a lewd grin. 'Guilty as charged.'

He got a cuff in the head for that, and Ino stuck her tongue out at him, but he saw Sakura shoot him a reassuring smile before she left the room, and that in itself was worth the bruise he'd be sporting in the morning.

He sat back on the straw mat, and watched the shadows shift ominously across him on the wall, their dance in sync with the flickering flame of Sakura's oil lamp.

Ten minutes later, Jiraiya entered, carrying a pot of thandai, which, if Naruto knew Jiraiya, had bhang in it.

'Ino's been complaining about you,' he said conversationally, as he made room for himself on the mat. 'Some bhang?'

Naruto shook his head. He didn't particularly feel like getting drunk when there were kids disappearing left, right and centre in Konoha. Even if it would bring him a bit of relief for the night.

'You know,' Jiraiya continued, 'sometimes when you think too hard about something, you miss the answer when it's right underneath your nose.'

'What do you mean?' Naruto straightened up. 'Do you know something about all of this?'

'No,' Jiraiya said mildly. 'Just what you've told me.' He paused as he poured the milky liquid into his own mug. 'That you've placed your bet on this guy with the pale face and dark hair.'

Naruto watched the other man closely. Jiraiya was being mysterious. Whenever Jiraiya was being mysterious it meant he had something brewing behind the scenes. Or that he was thinking about Tsunade's breasts, but somehow Naruto doubted that would be the case right now, given everything.

Then his patience snapped. 'What, you stupid perv, what do you know?'

Jiraiya gave him a maddeningly confused look. 'I told you, nothing. Just that you're not considering the possibility of it being someone inside Konoha.'

Naruto gaped at him. 'What? What are you saying? Of course it's not someone from the slum!'

Jiraiya shrugged at him, face passive. 'Selling children is not unheard of here. Plus, the kids are more likely to go off with someone they actually know.

Naruto shook his head vehemently. He refused to believe this. Konoha was _home_. They were all a family.

'No,' he said. 'I don't believe that.'

Jiraiya looked at him for a long moment. 'Ok,' he gave a small smile. 'Neither do I. Now, some bhang?'

Naruto closed his eyes, still rattled, and let out a shaky laugh. Of relief mostly. 'Stupid pimp.' He muttered. 'And _yes_!'

***

They met at Iruka's every evening, mainly because it was the only place that would give them any free food. Naruto always made up for the loss by working extra hours, so he didn't feel too guilty about it either.

'Morisuka disappeared this morning,' Kiba said, his words like stones falling into the heavy gloom. 'That makes four.'

He wasn't saying anything every one didn't already know. Naruto kicked at the leg of their table. Iruka glared at him when it wobbled dangerously.

Four children missing. Three weeks.

'I was thinking,' Neji said, fingers playing at the edge of his plate, 'that we should stop using the maidan.'

'That doesn't make sense.' Naruto said. 'Nobody's been picked up from there.'

Neji frowned into his chai. 'There's a suspicious person around.'

The hair at the back of Naruto's neck prickled. 'Pale face, black hair, black eyes? You've seen him? '

Neji nodded. 'When I finished delivering the papers this morning. I took the route next to the maidan, and he was watching the children play.'

Kiba frowned. 'When was that, around seven in the morning? Maybe he was just going for a walk.'

'No,' Naruto said firmly. 'Konohamaru said he acts strangely as well. I think he's our guy.'

Shikamaru sighed. 'Don't jump to conclusions, Naruto. It might be someone from within.'

Everyone felt silent at that. They had considered the possibility, of course, but nobody liked it, or liked talking about it.

'No,' Naruto said through grit teeth. '_No_.'

'Don't keep counting it out,' Shikamaru said, exasperated. 'Don't let this become something we can't fix, just because we couldn't handle it.'

'I agree with Naruto.' Kiba said, suddenly. 'I really don't think it could be anyone from here.'

Shikamaru shrugged. 'It's strange if you think about it,' he said, sitting back. 'Kids have vanished before too, but never at this rate. It's almost as if…,' he paused. 'There's something downright urgent about the pattern of the disappearances. Like, remember when we were young? The mass kidnappings? About eighteen kids disappeared from the slum then.'

They remembered, of course. They had all been there. It had been terrifying at the time, and Naruto still remembered the way Iruka would take his hand and walk him home every evening. Especially after Haku went missing.

Haku.

He had been their friend. One of Naruto's closest.

Then one evening, he said he would turn up at the maidan, and then, he didn't.

After that, Zabuza left the slum to look for him, and he never came back.

It wasn't something anyone could ever forget.

Naruto looked at him, eyes wide. 'What are you saying? Is this going to get worse?'

'I asked Lee look around the city for a bit.' Shikamaru broke his kebab into neat little pieces, and it didn't slip anyone's notice that he hadn't answered the question. 'Check the child beggars to see if he recognizes anyone…and nothing. Where do these kids keep vanishing?'

'It's not that difficult to hide four children,' Neji reasoned.

Shikamaru just shrugged again.

'We have to make sure the kids are indoors before dark,' Naruto said. 'Someone should watch them when they're at the maidan. No one should run errands once it's…'

'Naruto,' Shikamaru interrupted, 'they won't listen. The more you try to restrain them, the more they'll try to escape. Some might even make catching this guy an adventure.'

He was right. It was what Naruto would do if he was a kid. Freedom ran in your veins if you lived in a slum. You might not have money, you might not have a solid roof over your head, but you'd make do with the sky as long as it didn't try to hold you down.

'Then what do we do?' he asked, hopelessly.

'We keep an eye on them,' Shikamaru said, calmly. 'But we do it without their knowing.'

'And the ladies too,' Lee said enthusiastically. 'The ladies at Jiraiya's will need protection too. My dear Miss Sakura –'

'Lee,' Kiba said, irritably. 'It's not the ladies who are being targeted.'

All the same, Naruto knew that Lee would be a constant presence on Jiraiya's street from then on. The knowledge was oddly comforting.

'Isn't that Konohamaru?' Neji asked, looking at a point near Naruto's shoulder.

It was. Konohamaru stopped at the table, flushed and breathless.

'I told you,' he panted, looking at Naruto. 'I told you I'd help out, didn't I? I spoke to the black haired pussy today.'

'What?' Naruto turned to him, excited. 'You did?'

'You shouldn't have,' Neji interrupted sharply. 'You don't know who he is. You can't just walk up to stran-'

'I didn't,' Konohamaru crowed. '_He_ came to _me_!'

For someone who called the guy a pussy, Naruto thought, Konohamaru was awfully proud at having spoken to him.

'What did he want?' Shikamaru asked.

'He wanted to know if we all lived in the slums. So I told him, obviously, because _duh_. Then he asked till what time in the night we play outside.'

Naruto's detective alter raised his head and sniffed into the late evening air.

'Did you tell him?'

'No,' Kohohamaru grinned. 'I told him to mind his own business and then he walked off, all pissed. Moegi was _so_ annoyed, she ran after him to _apologize_, on my behalf. But the asshole brushed her off too.'

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, smiling. 'So can I jump to conclusions now?'

Kiba said 'We have to look out for this guy.'

'I've tried already,' Naruto informed him mournfully. 'He never turns up when I'm there.'

***

Black haired pussy turned out to be a master at evading people. There was no sight of him over the next three days.

If anyone asked Moegi what she had spoken to him about, after her failed attempt at an apology, she just narrowed her eyes and stuck her nose up at them. 'I know you think he's bad,' she said. 'Konohamaru must have told you. He is _such_ a child.'

Meanwhile, Naruto took to watching as many children as he could like a mother hawk. This was excessively difficult, because there were more of them than he could count.

'They're taking you for a ride, you know that?' Tsunade said, stirring something brown and murky in a plastic bowl. 'Mission: Run from Naruto, that's what they're calling their new game.'

Naruto sighed. 'I know. They all hate me now. Everyone does.'

Tsunade snorted, 'If you're trying to get me to buy you noodles from Ichiraku's, you're doing a shitty job of it.'

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her. 'Stingy hag.'

***

Naruto knew Konoha like the back of his hand; knew every winding street, every crowded alley, every shop, every person. He knew that the wind which blew from the west in the evenings brought along the smell of silt and fish, and though he retched at it then, he always prayed for it in the stifling heat of the afternoons He woke up to the songs of the worshippers in the nearby temple every morning, and slept to the sounds of the slum, the hum of life, the squabbling of children, the howl of dogs. He knew that the Muslim couple who had just opened their shop near the outskirts of Konoha made the best biryani in the world, and he knew that if he ever told Iruka this, the man would look at him with watery, betrayed eyes, before secretly going off and learning it for him.

Naruto knew where all the washing ladies hung their clothes up to dry; when he was younger, he would unremittingly steal their bras. He knew exactly when Yamato would be in a good enough mood to give him a plate of free pani puris. He knew that the old man Sarutobi liked sweets even though Konohamaru never let him have them because they were bad for his teeth. He knew that Hinata was bound to accept Kiba's proposal one day, and that her favourite colour was beige. He knew that he was best liked among the kids, and that their most exciting ambition was finding him a girlfriend.

He knew that if he were to take the street that led him out of Konoha, he would have to cross the maidan, and there he would find kites of all colours, soaring like the spirits of those flying them. If he took the narrow lane to the left, he would find himself at Jiraiya's, inhaling scent of women and incense. If he went straight instead, he would reach the trash cinema hall no one ever came to. A little further and he would see the big house no one lived in, with a big lock at the gate.

A little further, and Naruto would catch his breath.

The building had always fascinated Naruto. It had been intact about twelve years ago, when he was eight. A lot of people had lived here. A big family, Naruto liked to think, with a pet dog.

Naruto remembered them somewhat. They were very rich people, and there were lots of them. Maybe it was a joint family? All aunts and uncles and cousins living together?

Naruto imagined it would feel sort of like his slum.

If he thought really hard, Naruto would remember a boy. About his age. A school bus would come every morning to pick him up.

The building was in ruins now. It had simply caught fire one night. Faulty gas cylinder, they said.

The next morning, Naruto had watched with the rest of the slum, as the police dragged the charred, lifeless bodies outside.

Everyone said that the building was haunted. But Naruto knew that the slum was a place that breathed rumours like air, just like he knew that the place was absolutely safe.

The insides were black, decrepit, and smelled of ash, but the steps were intact, and sometimes, Naruto climbed all the way to the top.

The roof was his favourite place in the whole world. The whole of Konoha spread out before him, a sea of matchbox like houses, narrow, winding snakelike streets, and the people – his living, breathing family – moving through them, tiny ants in a world too big for them to comprehend.

When Naruto sat here, he felt as though he was watching over them. The people he loved and swore to protect.

I will protect them, he thought, and the answering wind sifted gently through his drooping eyelashes.

***

Naruto dreamt of the fire at times. He dreamt in vivid, bold strokes of harsh fluorescent, and woke up panting, sweating into the shirt he used as a pillow.

Tonight, he realized after a few hazy seconds of staring at the bamboo and gunny bags which made up his ceiling, it wasn't the dream which had woken him up.

The scream came again, cold and shrill in the sultry night.

He was up and out of the door in seconds.

***

Kiba caught up with him as he took his fourth turn.

'I've got Akamaru,' he said, panting. 'The bastard isn't going anywhere.'

Even as he ran through it, Naruto could see the slum coming to life in minutes. Lanterns were being lit, heads poked out of their windows.

Neji shot out of an adjacent lane.

'That way,' he breathed before taking the turn around the biryani shop.

The maidan spread out before them, washed silver in the moonlight. Sobbing in the middle of the street, was Moegi.

And holding her captive was a pale, black haired man.

Akamaru reached them first. With one clean leap across the street he latched on to the man's knees.

Naruto made it next. Falling on top Akamaru, he proceeded to beat the shit out of the kidnapping bastard.

They had finally caught him. They had caught the twisted, filthy –

There were lots of noises, dull beneath the rushing in his ears, and vaguely, he realized that Kiba was shouting something and someone else was screaming 'Stop, _stop_!'

Out of nowhere, Naruto felt a fist connect with his jaw.

The bastard _hit_ him!

Next thing he knew, Kiba was pulling him off, and yelling something into his ear.

'Naruto,' he heard. 'Naruto, we've got the wrong guy.'

'What?' he raged, 'but,' he pointed at the man trying to wrench Akamaru off him, and Naruto wished for a brief second that he could trade places with the dog. 'But it's the black haired pussy!'

At that the man stopped struggling and attempted to glare a hole through Naruto's head. '_What did you call me_?'

'BLACK – HAIRED - PUSSY!' Naruto hollered back. 'And how can you say he's the wrong guy? He was trying to kidnap Moegi!'

Neji gave a long, tired sigh and thrust Moegi forward.

'Naruto,' Moegi said, tears half choking her words. 'Sasuke didn't try to kidnap me. He saved me.'

***

To be continued….

Terms:-

**Dupatta :** A sort of stole. Part of a three piece Indian attire.

**Gulab jamuns : **A sweet dish. Brown, and really sticky.

**Maidan:** An open ground, usually used for playing.

**Jalebi:** Another sweet dish.

**Paan: **Itis a South, East and South East Asian tradition which consists of chewing Betel leaf (_Piper betle_) combined with the areca nut

**Thandai**: It is a cold drink prepared with a mixture of almonds, fennel seeds, rose petals, pepper, khus khus seeds(White poppy seeds), cardamom, saffron, milk and sugar. It is native to the country of India.

**Bhang: **Preparation from the leaves and flower bud of the female Cannibis plant consumed in the Indian Subcontinent.

**Pani puris : **Popular street snack in the Indian subcontinent**.** It comprises a round, hollow "puri", fried crisp and filled with a watery mixture of tamarind, chili, spices, potato, onion and chickpeas. Its size is small enough to fit in the mouth.

**Author's notes**: So this story started LEAKING my brain, and I had to do something about it. It was strange putting the characters in an Indian setting, especially because of their names, but there you go. There are terms that might sound strange, but I've explained them at the end of the chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: The Hunt (2/4)

**Pairing**: NaruSasuNaru

**Disclaimer**: Don't own.

**Summary**: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.

……

Naruto stared resolutely at the shadows flickering on Jiraiya's teal walls, determined to ignore the low buzz of conversation behind him.

He _knew_ they were making a mistake. They had to be. There was no way this guy was innocent.

He had black hair! He had pale skin! He had dark eyes!

He was the black haired pussy!

Naruto could literally _smell_ the guilt.

And now, after they had finally managed to catch him, he was getting the royal treatment at Jiraiya's, instead of the plummeting he deserved. _Sakura_ was cleaning his leg wound, her painted fingernails skimming lightly over the soft flesh of the knee, while Ino tried to talk him into taking off his shirt so that she could check for bruises.

_Right_. Check for bruises. Naruto snorted incredulously.

'Is there a problem, Naruto?' he heard Sakura ask, very sweetly, behind him.

Damn right, there was a problem. They were molesting a kidnapper, that's what the problem was.

And the bastard wasn't even that good looking! He just glared, hissed, and made these impatient noises.

'Naruto,' Sakura called him, her tone exasperated.

Naruto wasn't going to reply. He was IGNORING them. Because that's how he treated people who did shameless things with criminals.

Even if it was the first bit of attention he had received in thirty five minutes. IGNORE!

'What?' he asked, because he was obliging.

'You're blocking the light,' Sakura told him, curtly. 'Move it, or I won't be able to clean the wounds which _you_ put here.'

'Of course I put them there!' Naruto exploded. 'And I expected company. He was kidnapping Moegi!'

Moegi, who was huddled up in an embroidered pink shawl, and nestled protectively in her mother's arms, gave a loud sniff.

'I'm telling you he saved me…'

'Obviously, he brainwashed you,' Naruto said reasonably. 'You _think_ he saved you, when what he was actually doing was abducting you! It makes perfect sense.'

There was a loud scoffing sound from vicinity of the mattress, and Naruto reeled around to see the subject of their discussion emphatically rolling his eyes.

'Tell me, moron,' he said, pale face twisting into a sneer. 'When was it that I brainwashed her exactly? Before or after she screamed? Or for that matter, before or after she spotted the actual kidnapper?'

Naruto's entire being gave him the thumbs up for ripping the arrogant asshole apart limb from limb. Sakura must have noticed his murderous intent, because she gave him a warning glare.

'Don't expect me to understand how you go about your business!' he snapped. 'I'm not really proficient in your area of expertise.'

The bastard opened his mouth to reply, but the creak of the opening door cut him short. Neji entered, followed by Kiba, lee, Shikamaru and Jiraiya.

'Anything?' Naruto inquired, turning to them immediately.

Jiraiya grimaced, and in the dim lighting of the room Naruto could make out the tired lines of his face, etched as though with a failing quill. 'No. Nothing. He got away.'

'Are you sure it's not him?' Kiba asked, throwing Sasuke a distrustful look. 'It was really dark, and Moegi could have been made a mistake.'

Naruto finally understood why he got along so well with Kiba. They were comrades, that's what they were. The man, the other man, and his dog.

Shikamaru sat down heavily on a **muddha **and kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. 'No, it's not him. But,' he looked at Sasuke sharply, 'you're going to have to answer some questions.'

Sasuke's lips thinned, and he glared at each one of them in turn. 'I'm not answerable to anyone here.'

Naruto cracked his knuckles. 'Really? Will you feel the same way after being beaten to a pulp, then?'

'Oh God, shut up! The both of you!' Sakura barked. '_Some_ of us, would like to get some actual work done tonight.'

Naruto bristled visibly, and turned away.

'Moegi,' Neji said, briskly. 'Are you absolutely sure that you didn't see the face of the person who tried to kidnap you?'

Moegi shook her head rapidly. 'He grabbed me from behind, and before I could scream, he pressed this cloth to my nose.'

Naruto exchanged a quick look with Kiba.

'And then I got real dizzy. I thought I was going to pass out,' Moegi continued. 'But before I could, I felt something whip past me and hit the man holding me. Next thing I knew, I was falling forward, and Sasuke was running towards me.'

'You were in front of her,' Shikamaru said, shifting his seat so that it faced Sasuke. 'You must have got a clear view of the kidnapper's face.'

Sasuke scowled darkly. 'He was wearing a mask.'

'Come on!' Naruto griped. 'There are gaping holes in the story. Moegi _said_ she was dizzy; obviously she's got things a little muddled in her head. Plus, it sounds like there was chloroform on the cloth, _and_ he looks like the type who can afford it.'

'Moegi,' Sakura said, kindly. 'Do you remember which direction Sasuke came from?'

'No,' Moegi said, looking at Sasuke apologetically. 'He appeared out of nowhere. But I _saw_ him, and he was in _front_ of me. The other man was holding me from _behind_. Why won't anyone listen to me?'

'You should learn to listen to us first,' said Neji, voice brusque. 'Why were you out in the middle of the night when we had specifically asked all of you not to leave your houses?'

Moegi ducked her head, blushing, and muttered something.

'What?' Shikamaru asked.

'It was a dare,' Moegi muttered. 'Konohamaru told me that I didn't have the guts to cross the maidan after dark, so I wanted to prove him wrong.'

Naruto groaned loudly. He was going to find that half assed idiot and _kill_ him!

'You do realize,' Shikamaru said, exasperated. 'That this is probably the stupidest thing you've ever done. Konohamaru wouldn't even have believed you in the morning, not unless he was there to see for himself.'

Moegi nodded, close to tears again. 'I know. He lied to me. He _said_ he would be there, but when I turned up, he wasn't.'

It took some time for that to register, and when it did, Naruto's blood ran cold.

The whole room fell silent, and for that chilling minute, the only sound that made it past the crumbling bricks and cement of the wall was the chirping of a hundred crickets from the maidan outside.

For everyone in the room, with the exception of Sasuke and the girl herself, knew that Konohamaru was capable of a hell of a lot of things, but lying to Moegi was not one of them.

'Don't,' Kiba said, a broken word. 'Lets not – we should check his house first. Lee –'

'Yosh!' Lee was already flying down the stairs.

A second later, Naruto was doing the same.

***

The mid June Nor'westers swiped the fallen leaves over the maidan, the rush of their fervent song in dissonance with the slowing gait of his spirits.

Naruto stared down the button lying innocently at the corner of the street.

It was from a shirt Konohamaru had stolen from him, and stubbornly refused to return, about a year back.

He crumpled to the ground, buried his face in his hands, and stayed like that till Akamaru came howling down from Jiraiya's and dragged him back by the hems of his pants.

***

'We still don't know what to do with him,' Kiba said, jerking his head towards Sasuke.

Naruto clenched Konohamaru's button hard enough entrench its shape in his palm, and shrugged.

'Listen,' Neji said, to Sasuke. 'I'm asking one last time, what were you doing near the slums at this hour? Why do you watch the children play in the maidan? What's your agenda?'

Sasuke glowered at the questions. 'And I'm telling you for the last time, that it's my business.'

Kiba straightened up. 'What say we beat it out of him?'

'There's going to be no violence here.' Ino said, firmly. 'This is a place for ladies, you should be ashamed of yourselves.'

Kiba deflated visibly.

'The thing that worries me,' Shikamaru said, musingly. 'Is that there's more than one person we have to look out for. This guy obviously has an accomplice, or Moegi wouldn't have been attacked so soon after they kidnapped Konohamaru. You,' he turned to Sasuke. 'Did you see anyone else? Or hear anything for that matter?'

Sasuke shook his head.

Neji tugged irritably at the ends of his hair. 'So, what now, we let him go?'

The momentary silence that followed was broken by Sasuke.

'Actually,' he said. 'I was thinking I could stay.'

That made Naruto's head jerk up. 'What?'

'I want to stay,' Sasuke enunciated clearly. 'I can help out.'

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes suspiciously. 'And why would you want to do that?'

Sasuke's lips tightened briefly, as though having his motives questioned was not something he was used to. The shadows in the room flickered, once, twice, and licked delicately at his features. Then they cleared off his face completely, as he lifted his chin, eyes glinting defiance in the glow of the lantern.

'Let's just say, I'm interested in these kidnappings as well. I want to get to the bottom of this, same as you, and it's much easier to analyze the situation from the crux, rather than trying to solve it from the sidelines.'

Sakura frowned at him, her hand frozen about an inch above his wounded knee. 'So you're saying that you want to be in the hub of the kidnappings because it'll help you solve the mystery better?'

Sasuke shrugged noncommittally. 'I suppose that's one way to put this.'

Ino gaped at him. 'Are you a detective? Or a secret agent assigned to a mission? Like that hot guy from the english movies – what's his name? James bond?'

Sasuke made a pained face. 'No, that's…that's all I'm saying.'

'Oh, yeah?' Naruto heard himself say, tone flinty, like the edge of a blunt knife. 'And how do we know that you're not this accomplice we're looking for?'

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'Would I throw a stone at my partner, idiot?'

Shikamaru cut in before Naruto could retaliate. 'You do understand that you'll be under twenty four seven supervision.'

'WHAT?' Naruto yelled. 'Shika, you can't be serious. We're not letting this absolutely random bastard stay with us!'

'Actually, I agree with Shikamaru.' Neji intercepted quietly. 'He's a suspicious character, so it's safer to keep him under our noses. Besides, if he's telling the truth about wanting to solve this, we can do with all the help we get. Let's not forget, Konohamaru makes five.'

Naruto cringed, in spite of himself.

'He's not staying _here_,' Kiba said fiercely, with a quick glance at Hinata who was silently holding a bowl of water up for Sakura.

There was a heavy pause during which Shikamaru and Neji stared pointedly at Naruto.

Comprehension dawned clear as day.

'No,' Naruto said flatly. 'No. NO.'

'He has to be with someone all the time,' Neji said, rationally. 'And none of us live alone.'

'No,' Naruto chanted. 'No, no, no, absolutely not, I REFUSE, fucking hell no –'

'I don't want to live with you either, moron.' Sasuke informed him distastefully. 'Your house is probably a dump.'

'This is a SLUM, of course it's a dump!' Naruto shouted. 'But it's not dumpier than the rest.'

Sasuke crossed his arms. 'I don't believe you.'

Naruto gasped at the sheer impudence. 'I'll show you, you asshole, just wait till you come and see it for yourself and –' he broke off, horror struck. 'No, no, I didn't mean…'

'Why, thank you,' Sasuke said, very politely. 'How kind of you to offer.'

***

Having people over was not new to Naruto. People came over to his place all the time. Shikamaru stayed over sometimes, especially on humid summer nights when he felt too lazy to take five more turns to his own place. Kiba came over to drink every other day, whenever he managed to steal enough liquor from Jiraiya's not so secret stash under a loose floorboard, without Hinata noticing. Iruka brought food over whenever he shut down early, and even Sakura sauntered in at times to plough him for whistling at her on the streets while she was on duty.

But this was the first time he was bringing someone over to _stay_, and Naruto wasn't sure why his palms felt so clammy.

He made a face at the limping bastard and _only_ because he looked like a girl, held the door open for him.

'Thank you,' said Sasuke dryly, after entering. 'It's a palace.'

'Well, lucky for you.' Naruto snapped. 'Because it looks like you're going to have to put up here for awhile now.'

Sasuke glared around at the contents of the room, before turning to Naruto. 'There's no place for me to sleep.'

This was, to a large extent, Naruto thought, plain exaggeration. His house might not be the Taj Mahal, but it was definitely more than capable of sheltering two people. He looked around at the tin and cane walls, the old, torn sari Sakura had lent him to use as bedding, the oil lamp he rarely used because of the rising fuel prices, and the jute bag Iruka had given him when he was about five, to keep his clothes in. An old poster of **Hrithik Roshan** hung from the single nail on his wall, and on the floor below it, sat a small wooden stool he had put together himself, about four years ago.

'Of course there's place,' Naruto rallied. 'Unless you're wearing a corset under that shirt, we'll be able to fit without any problems.'

He held back a smirk as Sasuke bridled. The bastard had brought this upon himself.

'Yes, but, we'll constantly be,' he made a few motions with his hands Naruto couldn't, for the life of him, comprehend. 'Never mind. _God_!'

There wasn't any bedding for Sasuke, so Naruto let him sleep on the floor. Charitable was one thing, self sacrificial was another. He smiled serenely as Sasuke gently lowered himself onto the ground, mindful of his injured knee, sending filthy looks in Naruto's direction all the while.

'Can't you offer any ice? Plebe!' Sasuke grumbled as he failed to suppress a wince while adjusting his leg.

Naruto bit down a surge of irritation and said, very sweetly, instead, 'Of course. It's in the refrigerator in my suite.'

Sasuke exhaled loudly and turned, facing away so that Naruto was left to stare at the back of his crisp cotton shirt.

Distinctly, he heard, right before he drifted off, vision white from the after tones of the starched material, 'annoying idiot.'

***

The fire rose up like the tendrils of a gorgon's hair and licked the sky in light, teasing swabs.

Naruto wasn't even sure anymore if this was supposed to be _his_ dream.

When he woke up he was sweating, and it warm. Warmer than the usual pre monsoon night.

It took a moment for him to realize that there was another person in the room with him.

Sasuke had shifted in his sleep, and Naruto could see his face now, open and unguarded. His fingers were curled into the material of Sakura's sari, and after observing his slumbering stance, Naruto realized with a pang of guilt that the other man was going to be very stiff in the morning.

He listened to Sasuke's even, cadenced breathing, the metrical pattern of the inhalations and the exhalations, and in the end, it was that which lulled him back to sleep.

***

Naruto awoke the next morning to the sound of ringing bells and chanting from the temple.

He was, yet again, unusually warm, and also, incidentally, pressed up against a sleeping Sasuke.

Had he really been all that lonely, he wondered, in spite of claiming to have the most expansive family in the world, that his body should act so fucking _needy_ at the first offer of another presence?

Feeling a little pathetic, Naruto peeled himself away from the heat, the smell of dust and expensive shampoo, and crawled over to his open door.

Watching the slum wake up was like watching a moth unfold its wings for the first time. It started off as a weak thrum of energy under the rosy hue of the eastern sky, which would convert into a plethora, an _explosion_ of life given another hour. The **mynas** joined in the song of the worshippers and soon the crows pitched in their disharmonious contribution.

Naruto thought of Konohamaru and wondered if the boy was listening to the call of the same birds.

Sasuke stirred, slowly, and Naruto watched, out of the corner of his eyes as he came to terms with his new environs.

Then he sat up and said, very precisely, 'Do you at least have some toothpaste?'

Naruto was still laughing when Neji turned up, five minutes later, to check up on them,

***

Living with someone else, even if he were an unmitigated asshole like Sasuke, Naruto realized, didn't take as much getting used to as he had previously imagined. There had been moments, of course, like the time Naruto had gone berserk searching for the bastard the entire day, only to have him turn up in the evening and declare, very calmly, that he had gone to fetch a change off clothing. Irritation gave way to delight eventually, when Naruto discovered that said 'change of clothing' consisted of more garments than his entire wardrobe put together, and he proceeded, with great enthusiasm to steal every item in spite of Sasuke's shockingly brutal attempts to decapitate him (except the boxers. They were all black, the weirdo!)

Then there were the bathing times. Naruto had tried not cringe in embarrassment as Sasuke swathed liberal amounts of mint scented shower gel on his body the second day, steadfastly ignoring the snickers of every other person in the river, and within the hinterland of a hundred feet radius. Next day, Naruto had hidden the bottle in his jute bag, and had nearly been murdered for it.

But living with him was becoming a pattern, and though Naruto was never at peace with it, because peace and Sasuke were as in discord as the chattering of monkeys to the music of a harp, he grew, almost without his noticing, comfortable with the other's presence.

He knew Sasuke was meanest person he had ever come across, and that he had secrets buried so deep, that sometimes Naruto wondered if he didn't have troubles finding them himself. He knew that Sasuke didn't really care about what was happening to the children; he ignored all the slum kids who examined his expensive attire in silent fascination, and that his first priority was that hidden agenda of his, whatever that was. He also knew that Sasuke had his own nightmares, and sometimes, after a particularly ferocious one, Naruto would close his eyes and count the seconds till his breathing evened out again.

Naruto knew that Uchiha Sasuke was a mystery, and that he regarded Naruto with a look that one might reserve for a pile of camel shit lying on the road, but he also knew that the man was an expert at pretending, and that, somehow, worked to his advantage.

Because if there was one thing Naruto didn't tolerate, it was a façade under his own roof.

***

Sasuke liked masala chai, insulting Naruto, and sneering at the world in general. But he especially liked the first two, so every evening he sat at Iruka's, drinking masala chai while insulting Naruto.

Naruto firmly believed that one day, after Sasuke had had his fill of verbal maltreatment, he might even buy him a plate of sheik kebabs as a return gift for all the hospitality.

'Oi, bastard,' he said, cheerfully. 'Just ten bucks. _C'mooooon_.'

'…no,' Sasuke replied, smirking as he daintily sipped his hot tea. 'Moron.'

'Hey!' Naruto said, indignant, 'I even stole a shawl from Tsunade for you to sleep on. Show some gratitude, you socially inept asshole.'

'Naruto,' Sasuke said in a low voice, his tone in complete contradiction to scorn Naruto had been expecting, and his eyes fixed to a point beyond his left ear. 'Who's that man standing there?'

Naruto turned his face to the crowd sweeping past their table. 'Which man?'

'The one leaning onto the seat of the **rickshaw** with the red shade,' Sasuke murmered. '_Don't stare_, you imbecile.'

Naruto saw him. A man with spiky silver hair and a face mask was leaning against the vehicle next to Ichiraku's, by the edge of the narrow street.

'What about him?'

'I've seen him before.' Sasuke said, watching the man out of the corner of his eyes. 'Hanging around the maidan. I used to think that he lived here.'

Naruto studied the man carefully. He didn't look familiar. Definitely not someone who lived in Konoha, or he would have recognized him.

Suddenly, Sasuke stood up.

'Let's go,' he said, not even bothering to look at Naruto before taking off.

Naruto cursed and ran after him.

'What're you doing?' he barked, catching up with Sasuke in a few steps.

'How much for a ride to the city?' Sasuke asked, and it took Naruto a second to realize that he was speaking to the **rickshaw wallah**.

The man seemed to find this amusing. His eye crinkled into a crescent, and Naruto figured that was him smiling.

'Eight rupees,' the rickshaw wallah said. 'Hop on.'

Sasuke climbed onto the bright red seat and then motioned for Naruto to do the same.

'Sasuke,' Naruto whispered, after getting on. 'What's all this?'

'Idiot,' Sasuke hissed back. 'Don't you pay attention to anything? There's definitely something up with this guy.'

'Oh, yeah?' Naruto raised his voice over the rumbling of the wheels. 'And you would know this how?'

Sasuke shushed him with a warning jerk of his head towards the direction of the peddling man. 'I told you, I've seen him around the maidan a few times, which is just strange because people in slums don't use rickshaws. Also, didn't you notice, he was staring right at you while we were at the kebab stall.'

Naruto hadn't noticed. 'What?'

'Besides, he didn't even ask us where we wanted to go. I just said 'city', but any normal rickshaw wallah would have asked for a specific location before naming the price.'

Naruto stared at the back of the silver head. 'Oi,' he called after a while. 'You. Who the hell are you?

He heard the smack of Sasuke's palm as it hit his forehead.

The rickshaw wallah angled his head slightly, so that Naruto could see his eye forming a crescent again. 'Me?' he asked, sounding pleasantly bemused. 'My name is Kakashi. Why?'

'What were you doing in Konoha?' Naruto pressed, impatient.

'Earning my bread, of course,' Kakashi replied, smooth and agreeable, as though humoring a particularly talkative customer.

This time Sasuke cut in. 'And where are you taking us? We didn't name a site, you know.'

The vehicle took a sharp turn around a row of old, one storied, flat roofed houses, and colours exploded before Naruto's eyes. Like **Holi**, only much brighter. The street before him was overflowing with people and sounds; streamers spilled over the roofs of buildings, strings of yellow bulbs, with their ends tied to electric poles and branches of trees, crisscrossed over the heads of the crowd, and the music - jaunty, and beating like an erratic pulse - rose over the commotion like an omnipresence.

The vibe made its way up the street and built up with the force of a hurricane at a huge gate adorned with lights and artfully cut crepe paper.

Kakashi said, 'the circus, obviously. Sound's come back to this place after twelve years, I thought this was where everyone would want to be.'

Sasuke exhaled loudly. 'The circus. Of _course_.'

Naruto looked up at the banner attached to the head of the gate. Next to him, Sasuke read aloud the sparkling text.

_**The Sound**__.  
Millennia Circus._

Naruto knew, of course, that children were smuggled off to circuses. It wasn't that uncommon a practice, and he had heard tales of it from Shizune who had worked as a bird tamer before all her canaries died of some disease, and she moved into the slum. There had even been some police cases down south a few years back, but Naruto couldn't read the newspapers and only remembered the tidbits of information Neji had fed him, which wasn't much.

Is this where Konohamaru and the others were being held captive? What were they being made to do?

Naruto's blood started pounding in his ears, and he leapt off the rickshaw.

'Naruto,wait,' Sasuke said, crossly, as he dismounted after him. 'Don't run off and do something stupid just because you still possess the cognitive abilities of an ape. We've got to think this through.'

'He's right,' Kakashi put in silently. 'Strange things are abound, you know.'

And with that cryptic memo hanging behind him, Kakashi swerved the rickshaw and took off into the opposite direction.

'Hey, wait!' Naruto yelled after him, 'Dammit, _wait_.'

Sasuke sighed. 'Forget it. Come on, let's see what we can find out from here.'

Darkness had fallen too fast, and Naruto frowned up at the dark clouds swallowing the western sky in a devouring, ominous yawn. If they didn't hurry, they were going to be caught in a downpour.

He collided with Sasuke's back as the man suddenly stopped dead before him.

'What _now_?' Naruto moaned.

'This,' Sasuke said, and stepped aside so that Naruto could get a clear view of what was before them.

There were sketches, lots of them, lying upon a sheet of blue plastic on the pavement.

Naruto caught his breath as Konohamaru's frightened face stared back at him from amidst drawings of birds and animals.

'Would you like me to sketch your face?' came the polite question from his right.

Naruto spun around so quickly that he thought he heard his neck crick.

Standing above the mess of paintings, and holding a couple of brushes in his hands, was a pale, dark haired man. He would have looked a bit like Sasuke, Naruto thought, if he had had any of the fire in his eyes.

Oh, that, and he wore a tank top.

'No,' Sasuke said curtly, assessing the man with cold eyes. 'What we would like is for you to tell us where you got this picture from.'

The man's gaze followed the direction of Sasuke's pointing finger. Then he sat down, very neatly, next to the sketch, and ran a caressing finger up the edge of the paper. 'Would you like to sit down?'

'No,' Naruto said through grit teeth. 'Just tell us what we're asking you.'

The man regarded them through lidded eyes. 'I'm Sai.' His fingers continued to stroke the paper.

'We don't,' Naruto growled, hoping the guy would die of a paper cut, 'give a FUCK. Just tell us what we need to know.'

Sai shrugged with the same infuriating calmness. 'I've heard it's polite to introduce yourself to people you converse with.' He picked up the sketch of Konohamaru's face and held it under the circus lights. 'I drew this.'

Naruto's breath left him in a rush. 'Where? Where did you see him?'

Sai held out the sheet towards Naruto and said, 'in Sound. Maybe you'd like to keep this?'

Naruto took the picture and stared at it. 'He looks terrified,' he muttered softly, before handing it over to Sasuke.

Sai fished out a fresh sheet and began to draw lines, hard and bold, on it. 'Yes,' he said, voice neutral. 'I captured the expression of fear quite well, I think.'

'Where in Sound?' Sasuke asked him shortly. 'Was someone mistreating him? Were there other children with him?'

Sai looked up at them, and his face was devoid of any expression. 'I saw him peeping out of a flap in a tent. There was no one with him that I remember. Besides, it was the emotion on his face that interested me more than anything else. Do you see the unadulterated fear?'

'Shut up.' Naruto snarled. 'Shut the fuck up. He's not some still life object for you to sketch, you jerk.'

There was a clap of thunder and the rain came almost abruptly. Naruto shivered as cold water sluiced down his skin, soaked through his clothes, and settled uncertainly into the confinements of his eyelashes.

Sai turned away to gather all his work before they were destroyed.

'Naruto,' he heard Sasuke say beside him, and the bastard sounded almost exasperated. 'Come on. We have to get back.'

Naruto looked at him in amazement. 'What? But they're right here, in that stupid circus! I'm not leaving now.'

Sasuke grabbed his forearm and tugged hard. 'You idiot. How many times do I have to tell you that we can't rush into these things? We're harmless right now, and numerically weak. Forget playing the hero, there's no guarantee that we'll ever be able to leave the place if we go in there now.'

Naruto had never in his life, wanted to do so many things at the same time before. He wanted to punch Sasuke, and then punch Sai, and then rush into the circus and save all the five kids. He wanted to prove Sasuke wrong so badly, because he was fucking tired of just sitting around, discussing and planning, and ultimately, doing nothing at all. Then he maybe wanted to crawl into someplace nice and dark and warm, and sleep for twenty four hours straight.

But most of all he wanted to be the one calling the shots in this hunt.

Sasuke kept a firm hold on his hand, and pulled out his wallet with the other.

'How much for the sketch?' he asked. Naruto realized that this was the first time Sasuke had ever offered to buy him something.

Sai threw the plastic sheet over all his drawings and stood up to face the both of them.

'Oh no,' he said, and the calm in his voice sounded above the music and the rain. 'You don't have to pay me if he was already yours.'

***

They made their way back on foot, guided by the occasional flash of lightening.

'I don't know why I listened to you,' Naruto said sullenly. 'You're an asshole.'

'I'm also right,' Sasuke replied, imperiously. 'Every time.'

Naruto shoved him half heartedly. 'I hate you. You smell funny.'

Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. 'I smell _good_. Didn't know you'd noticed, though.'

Naruto had no idea how to reply to that. And it was stupid, _stupid _that people were being kidnapped and he had been able to do absolutely nothing to save them in spite of being so bloody _close_ and now they were discussing the way Sasuke smelt. Like it mattered.

Nothing made sense anymore.

So he said, 'My house smells of mint because of you. Kiba makes fun of it whenever he comes over. I'm emptying the bottle in the river tomorrow.'

Next to him Sasuke snorted. 'Like I'd let you, idio-'

He broke off with a gasp as a flash of lightening threw the street before them into sharp, electric relief.

Naruto saw it too. In the split second of light, a figure had stepped out of the shadows of the burnt building, and faced them, poise steady.

He made out dark hair, and cold, lifeless eyes before they were plunged into darkness again.

'Fuck,' he heard Sasuke breathe beside him. 'Fuck! _Fuck_. Itachi!'

Somewhere ahead of them, from the heart of the umbrae, Naruto heard a voice, as frigid as the chill in his bones.

'Foolish little brother,' it mocked. 'Were you so keen on picking up where we left off?'

Then, before his brain could catch up with the proceedings, a gunshot rang out, cold and clear, into the night.

Next to him, Sasuke crumpled to the floor.

Naruto immediately swooped down beside him. 'Sasuke? _Shit_, Sasuke! Don't pass out on me, bastard!'

Sasuke moaned. 'I'm not passing out, moron. Fuck, where is he?'

The sound of fading footsteps informed them of the man's departure.

Sasuke cursed, and another flash of lightening revealed a bloody hole in his shoulder.

***

'We have to get him drunk,' Tsunade told him, producing two bottles of liquor from the clay pots she kept behind her door.

When Naruto stared, she shrugged and said 'Jiraiya.'

She arranged her pastes on the floor and placed a flat palm on Sasuke's forehead. 'Running a temperature. Brat,' she said to Naruto, 'you've got to hold his arms down. Alcohol or not, this is going to hurt like a clawing bitch.'

Naruto nodded and held the bottle up to Sasuke's mouth. Shameful

Sasuke took a sip and grimaced. 'I can't believe you're making me drink this cheap shit.'

'Good to see the bullet hasn't shattered your high class sensibilities,' Naruto said, wryly. 'Now drink up.'

Fifteen minutes later Naruto was clenching the arms of a distinctly tipsy Sasuke. The guy was a lighthead. What a loser!

'Going to tell me who did this?' Tsunade asked, bringing out a wad of cotton.

Sasuke turned his face into Naruto's neck. 'No,' he whispered, the word a warm gust against his skin.

Naruto looked at her helplessly, and Tsunade rolled her eyes and bent down to inspect the wound.

It was a painful half hour. The smell of blood was making Naruto nauseous, and Sasuke's face was still buried into the crook of his neck in a way that made him wonder if bastard was even aware of it. Plus, Sasuke was sweating, rivulets of moisture snaked their way down his temples and his pulse, only to seep into Naruto's rain soaked shirt. His mouth was open against Naruto's skin, hot puffs of breath creating a patch of dampness where his neck met his shoulders, and for an instant, his entire universe narrowed down to focus on that one incinerating spot. When the needle made its first puncture on his skin, Sasuke bit down, hard, and Naruto thought, his face heating up, that it would probably leave a mark.

When they were done, Tsunade unwound a long, clean looking stretch of cloth and created a faux cast with it.

'Best you can get done without a professional.' She announced, tightening the last knot.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's bloodless face. The little bit of colour that he had acquired during his stay at the slum had washed away completely, like paint under a faucet. 'Will he be okay?'

Tsunade pursed her lips and nodded. 'Listen, brat, I want to hear about this tomorrow. I don't want you getting into these dangerous situations, no matter how many kids disappear. They wouldn't want you dying because of them, you understand, or anybody else for that matter,' she looked at him closely, 'Was it a cop?'

Naruto shook his head miserably.

Tsunade looked as though she wanted to hit him. 'If you wander off to get yourself killed one more time,' she warned, her words a hiss. 'I'm going straight to Iruka. Then don't blame me if you're grounded like a twelve year old.'

***

It had stopped raining, and the cool air seemed to work on Sasuke's senses a little bit.

'I can walk by myself,' he said, stiffly, detaching himself from Naruto.

A step later, he tipped, and would have gone crashing to the ground if Naruto hadn't grabbed him around the waist, and pulled him upright.

Sasuke grumbled something unintelligible, and his breath ghosted on Naruto's jaw, reminding him of the mouth, hot and open, upon his skin. Absently, he brought his other hand up to touch the spot where Sasuke had bitten him.

Naruto shook his head clear of the thoughts. This was _not_ happening. Not at a time like this, and _not_ to him.

He must have drunk some of the alcohol himself.

Besides, it had been a long day. And tomorrow, Sasuke had some questions to answer.

He sighed and straightened the other man when he started to slump against him. 'You really are a handful, you know.'

Sasuke snorted, a sleepy sound, and almost unconsciously, leaned a little more of his weight into Naruto.

***

**Myna:** The mynas (also spelt mynahs) are birds of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia.

**Rickshaws****:** (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons.

**Rickshaw wallah:** The man who draws/ drives the rickshaw.

**Hritik Roshan: **A Bollywood actor. He's a wicked dancer!

**Holi:** Also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed mainly in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh.

**Muddha:** A chair made of cane and jute.

**Author's notes**: Thank you for the reviews. Sorry, I took a while to update this time (college applications D: ) But my future posts are going to be more frequent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: The Hunt (3/4)

**Pairing**: NaruSasuNaru

**Disclaimer**: Don't own.

**Summary**: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them

-----

When Naruto woke up the next morning, Sasuke was absent.

It was still early. The birds were his only companions as made his way under the rusty expanse of the exhausted sky. Something told him that he had a fair idea of where Sasuke would be.

The interior of the building was even darker in the thin light of dawn. Naruto stared at the ashen walls and tried to guess at their original colour. Perhaps ivory, like the tusks of a baby elephant, or something which could be as easily manipulated to amend its tint.

Sasuke sat at the edge of the roof, a silhouette against the ruby vista.

'You're the boy of my dreams,' Naruto told him.

Sasuke considered him with a look that one might spare for a cockroach.

'I _mean_,' Naruto clarified. 'That you lived here. Before the fire. I dream about it sometimes.'

Sasuke angled his face just so that one dark eye could silently regard Naruto. After about a minute, Naruto realized that he was looking at his neck.

'Don't have to look at it that way, asshole,' he muttered darkly, slapping a palm over the bite mark. 'You put it there anyway.'

Then Sasuke _smirked_.

'Listen,' Naruto seethed. 'Don't act so cocky. Last night you nearly got killed, and you scared the shit out of me. You owe me answers, bastard, after what you put me through.'

There was a brief pause during which a gentle draft from the east bathed them in the scent of temple girls and marigold.

'The lesser you know,' Sasuke said, turning away again, 'the better.'

'Bullshit,' Naruto said, hotly. 'That's bullshit, and you know it. We're in this together, now.'

Sasuke snorted, 'now _that's_ bullshit. You don't even know where I'm coming from.'

'So tell me,' Naruto said desperately, 'I can handle it, whatever it is!'

Sasuke finally turned to him, and Naruto took in the tired stance, the bandages and two appraising pits of obsidian before his breath caught and he realized that the sneaky bastard must have closed the gap between them completely, because all he could see and smell anymore was the other man.

He twitched as he felt something slim and warm touch the bruise on his neck, and in seconds, as soon as all the neurons in his brains were able to reconnect, he became aware of the fact that Sasuke's fingers were rubbing slow, deliberate circles on the spot where he had bitten him.

'Are you sure, Naruto?' Sasuke whispered into his ear, and he felt himself shivering as warm lips touched his earlobe fleetingly. 'Look at you,' he pulled back slightly, and peering into Naruto's eyes, said, his tone cold and flat, 'you're terrified. You can't even handle _this_. What makes you think you can deal with the truth?'

Naruto's entire focus zeroed down onto the digits playing softly on his skin, and slowly, it occurred to him that he was in deep trouble.

Then all the warmth left his body completely as Sasuke removed himself and walked towards the direction of the steps.

It was only the coaxing wind that reminded him to breath.

***

Naruto caught up with him by the maidan.

'What the _fuck_ was that bastard?'

Sasuke's face was pinched and hard. 'Nothing. A mistake. Forget it.'

Naruto caught him by the unharmed shoulder and jerked so that they were facing each other. 'That was _not_ nothing. _God_, why are you so…stubborn? Why can't you just trust me instead of playing all these mind games and pulling these twisted stunts and –'

'Naruto,' Sasuke said without a flicker of expression on his face. 'Shut up.'

Distractedly, Naruto wondered if enough gnashing could turn enamel to powder.

'What do you MEAN shut up? I'm not going to – '

Sasuke kissed him.

It was hard, almost a crush of lips, and Naruto winced as he felt teeth scraping the soft skin at the corner of his mouth.

His brain screamed at him to pull away because this was _wrong_, no matter what his tearing lungs and evading breaths told him. This was wrong, and Sasuke was just a fuck up, a mad fuck up who did crazy things to people and –

Sasuke lifted his mouth and breathed harshly, into Naruto's ear, 'I _told_ you to shut up, idiot! There's someone here.'

'Wha –' Naruto's mind took some time to thaw, 'huh?'

He heard footsteps, and instinctively pushed Sasuke away.

'Well,' he heard Kakashi say behind him. 'This is certainly interesting.'

***

'Oh,' Jiraiya said lewdly, licking the froth of his drink off the tip of his index finger, 'the brat has a hickey.'

Naruto felt his face heating up, and he carefully avoided Sasuke's steady gaze.

'He _does_?' Ino ran forward excitedly to confirm the fact. 'Oh my God, who finally took pity on you?'

As he stuck his tongue out at her, Naruto saw Kakashi sip his thandai with a knowing crinkle of his eyes.

'Weren't we here to discuss something important?' Sasuke asked irritably.

Jiraiya nodded complacently. 'Yes. Starting with how you got that injury.'

Sasuke frowned. 'It's a minor wound. Nothing to talk about.'

'A minor _bullet_ wound?' Kakashi asked pleasantly, hands cupping the cool steel of his glass.

Ino and Sakura gasped.

'I _said_ it's nothing.' Sasuke said through grit teeth. 'Nothing important.'

Nothing important. Naruto resisted the urge to smack Sasuke. Or do something equally drastic like spill everything he knew. Which wasn't much, but whatever.

Because, honestly, Sasuke _needed _help. The guy was screwed up in the head, and did sick things to people like kissing them randomly, and he deserved to get run over by a bus for simply existing! Or lynched by a mob. Or punched to death by Naruto.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, and Naruto saw the hardness that most people didn't even know the man harboured within him.

'Listen, Uchiha,' he said, the softness in his voice a clear threat. 'I don't know what your business is, but if it's anything that's going to harm Konoha, you better think twice before proceeding. We're not as forgiving a bunch as we are accepting.'

Sasuke raised his chin defiantly, and said nothing.

'Now,' Jiraiya continued placidly, as though the previous conversation hadn't occurred, 'like Sasuke said, we were about to discuss something important?'

'First off,' Naruto cut in, glaring at Kakashi, 'what the hell is he doing here?'

'Oh, Kakashi,' Jiraiya said cheerfully, 'he's an old pupil of mine. We've seen many good times together.'

Watching their eyes glaze over, Naruto decided that he really didn't want to know what it was that Kakashi had learnt from Jiraiya.

Sasuke exhaled loudly and pointedly. 'What does he know that can help us?'

Jiraiya beamed at them. 'Well, after seeing your distress, I decided to drag Kakashi into the business. He's very well informed, you see. He's what one might call a wanderer, earns his living from all over the country.'

'How did you know that Sound was taking the kids?' Naruto asked him.

Kakashi held his glass out for a refill. 'Thing is,' he said, looking at Naruto. 'I've been down south for a while before this, you know. And there were plenty of child disappearances there, too. Coincidentally, Sound was running its show there at the same time.'

Naruto's skin started prickling. Down South. Cases of disappearing children. He had heard about this, but had had no idea that the same circus was responsible for them.

'And also, when we were young.' He heard himself say. 'When the kids started disappearing from the slum.'

'Which was,' Jiraiya said, 'twelve years ago. And when was the last time Sound was in town?'

'Twelve years ago!' Sakura gasped.

The same year, Naruto thought, that the building was burnt down. And now, twelve years later, the only two survivors are at the same place, and incidentally, so is the circus.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Sasuke sat, completely unperturbed by the conversation.

_What the fuck __are you hiding, bastard? _

Aloud, he said, 'So it's the same people kidnapping all these kids? What the hell do they want?'

Kakashi shrugged. 'No idea. I wasn't even sure if it really was Sound that was taking the children, I just had my hunches after connecting all the dots. That's why I took the both of you to the circus yesterday, so that you'd go in as spectators, and see if you could figure something out. But apparently, you found the necessary evidence without even having to step inside.'

Naruto grimaced. 'Yeah, this jerk of a guy had seen Konohamaru inside the circus.'

'Should we tell Sarutobi? And Kurenai, and the rest?' Sakura asked. 'They'd want to know.'

'Absolutely not. We're not telling anyone anything yet.' Jiraiya said firmly.

'WHAT?' Naruto raged. 'They're their kids, of course we should –'

'Naruto,' Kakashi interrupted. 'It's too dangerous. You don't know who you're dealing with. There's a reason I didn't enter that circus myself, you now.'

Naruto crossed his arms angrily, 'I don't care what why you di –'

'I was afraid that I would be recognized.' Kakashi pressed. 'Listen to me. About five years ago I met this guy in a paan shop. We got into a fight for classified reasons, and then we went into an alley and got pissed. There he told me that he was looking for someone. Had been for seven years.'

Naruto looked at him in puzzlement. 'What does that have to do with anything?'

'So he told me that finally, after years of searching, he had found a lead. Sound. He went into the circus the next day, and as far as my knowledge goes, never made it out.'

Kakashi paused for a long, laden moment.

'He was strong, one of the strongest fighters I have ever come across. He told me his name was Zabuza.'

***

They decided that they would have to tell a few people. Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, and Chouji. Later, that evening, they would enter the circus, blend into the audience and look out for anything suspicious.

'And remember, don't do anything rash.' Kakashi said, staring pointedly at Naruto. 'One wrong step can mean one kid dead.'

At around eight, Ino called the rest over so that they could finalize the plan.

'For the last time,' Shikamaru argued, exasperatedly, fifteen minutes into the discussion. 'The women stay _here_.'

Ino threw an anklet at him.

'But why can't we help?' Sakura protested.

'Because seven men are enough. Besides, Jiraiya will never let you come.' Neji told her.

'Which is why we're having this discussion while the stupid fart is downstairs.' Ino said heatedly. 'We're coming.'

She chucked her other anklet when Kiba started snickering.

'No girls,' Naruto agreed, and then before Sakura could release her wrath on him, hastily added, 'because, you're our back up. No body outside this room has any clue about what's going on. We need people who know the entire plan to stay back, so that they can bring reinforcements incase we fail to turn up.'

He winced as a sandal hit his face.

'Don't say stuff like that, idiot!' Ino screached. 'Fine, we'll stay, but only because you lot are a bunch of chauvinist pigs, and not because you might get yourselves killed by some circus clowns. Because it'll just be pathetic if you do.'

Then she threw them out saying that she had had enough of seeing their ugly faces.

They were begining to make their way over to Iruka's when Kakashi stopped them.

'I just need to talk to Naruto for a second,' he said, smiling, motioning for the rest to continue.

Naruto followed him to the shade of Jiraiya's doorway. He could hear Ino grumbling through the open window above them.

'Do you trust Sasuke?' Kakashi asked abruptly, as he turned to lean against the cracked cement work of the wall.

Naruto regarded him apprehensively. 'Why do you ask?'

Kakashi shrugged. 'No reason, really. But following someone you've barely known for a fortnight to a rickshaw driven by a complete stranger – it's little too trusting, don't you think?'

Naruto scowled at him. 'I can take care of myself.'

Kakashi smiled and that infuriating crescent made its appearance once again. 'Of course you can.'

Then he just stood there, staring at Naruto like he was sizing him up.

'What?' Naruto finally snapped. 'Just spill whatever you have to.'

Kakashi pushed himself off the wall. 'I'm sure it's nothing significant, but you should know all the same. When Sound was in the South, Uchiha Sasuke was there too. I saw him with my own two eyes.'

***

By the time Naruto reached Iruka's, he was frothing at the mouth.

Enough time had been wasted playing Mr. Nice Guy.

He was going to find Sasuke, and beat the shit out of him till he gave Naruto some answers.

Only Sasuke wasn't at Iruka's.

'He went back to your place,' Kiba told him, making a face. 'Said we were giving him a headache.'

Naruto reached his house to find all of Sasuke's belongings gone.

He ran.

***

Sasuke was walking by the trash cinema hall when Naruto saw him.

He ran up to him, and without further ado, punched him hard in the face.

Sasuke glared up at him from the pavement; roughly wiped at the blood spilling from his split lip.

'You can't keep running away from me forever, bastard,' Naruto said, smiling grimly. It felt good hit him, to be able to finally channel all his frustration into something physical and real.

Sasuke pushed himself up to his feet. 'Get out of my way.'

'Why did your brother try to kill you?'

Sasuke's fists clenched even tighter and Naruto thought that maybe he was going to hit him back. It wouldn't be too bad if he did.

'I said,' Sasuke said, his words tight and restrained. 'Get out of my way.'

'Or what?' Naruto mocked. 'You're going to _kiss_ me again?'

He almost didn't see the fist coming.

And it was the best feeling he'd had in a long time. Fists and dirt and the taste of blood. There was the pain to focus on, and the idea of getting Sasuke beneath him; sweat pooling at the corners of his eyes and Sasuke's gaze up on him, wild, desperate, and maybe a little bit murderous.

'Why were you leaving, asshole?' Naruto almost didn't hear his own voice breaking. 'Why the _fuck_ were you leaving?'

Sasuke kicked him in the stomach, 'Why can't you just,' he groaned as Naruto pushed him onto the ground, 'Why're you so –'

And finally he did have Sasuke pinned to the ground beneath him but there was nothing of the essence of victory in the weight of the air between them.

A dark stain was rapidly spreading through the white of Sasuke's cast, and Naruto remembered with a jolt.

Sasuke's wound.

'Shit,' he groaned, '_shit_.'

Sasuke sat up very slowly, his dark eyes measuring.

A part of Naruto's brain realized that there was something very wrong with the situation. He was straddling Sasuke in the middle of a street, where anybody crossing the maidan would be able to see them, and all he could think of was Sasuke's mouth, only inches from his, and Sasuke's scent, sweat, dust, and the underlying tone of mint and tea.

And that just showed how good Sasuke was at screwing people over. It had been no more than two weeks and the bastard already smelled like home.

'Naruto,' Sasuke said, and something about his tone made Naruto look up. 'I…'

He noted a flicker of wistfulness in the depths of obsidian before something collided, hard, with the side of his head, and the world turned black.

***

Naruto didn't know much about dreams or predictions or Extra Sensory Perception. He had definitely heard Jiraiya use all three while seducing young girls, but didn't have much idea about the concepts himself.

His dreams were just graphic strokes of unconscious; he let them be because that's what he supposed people did with their dreams.

He had never understood though, why he dreamt of the fire. But he did, very often, and in time he learnt to treat it as an illustrative fixture. He didn't expect it to go away, but he did expect to get used to it.

He had never wondered, not once, if the dreams had been trying to tell him something about his providence all the while.

***

There was too much light behind his eyelids and somebody was repeatedly slapping his face.

'Naruto,' he heard. His name. '_Naruto_.'

He opened his eyes to the white of the afternoon sky.

'Thank God. He's awake.'

Another voice, 'What the fuck happened?'

Sakura's face floated into his vision. 'Naruto. Hey, you can hear me, right?'

Then the right half of his face nearly exploded as pain tore through his senses, and he recalled.

His throat was parched, and his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth, but he said it anyway.

'I'm going to fucking _kill him_.'

***

The circus, in the evenings, looked like Diwali.

There were lights, fluttering, dancing lights; lights reflecting off the surfaces of streamers, electric paper, glittering paint on the faces of clowns and the mirror work on the dresses of the performing girls. And then there were sounds, growls which rose from covered cages, people laughing, wind teasing, the fanatical beat of music and drums and life – and so this is where they keep the children, Naruto thought. At the epicenter of happiness, where no one would think to look.

'Where should we start searching?' Neji asked, his hair catching the fluorescence of the grounds as he turned to Shikamaru.

Before Shikamaru could reply, a tinkling voice spoke up behind them, 'Search for whom, handsome?'

Naruto spun around to find a girl with two short ponytails smiling at them. Her eyes flickered back to Neji.

Neji looked unimpressed. 'Who wants to know?'

The girl's smile grew wider, 'They call me Tenten. You're gonna watch me throw knives in a while.'

Naruto said, 'We're looking for a boy named Konohamaru. Do you know him?'

He heard Shikamaru moan despairingly behind him.

Tenten frowned, 'Konohamaru? You're going to have to describe him for me. Does he belong to the circus?'

'No,' Neji said. 'Never mind.'

'I can ask Kabuto, though,' Tenten said, 'he keeps track of everyone here.'

'_No_,' Neji snapped. 'I told you, never mind.'

Tenten scowled at them, 'Fine, geez, unfriendly assholes,' she muttered, turning away.

'So not everyone here is aware of the kidnappings,' Kiba said.

'She could have been lying,' Neji reasoned.

'I don't think so,' Naruto argued.

'Where should we start?' Kiba asked.

'I shall look into each tent.' Lee offered enthusiastically.

'We'll look suspicious,' Shikamaru said. 'Besides, it's too troublesome. I think we should wait until the show starts before sneaking out and searching for them.'

'God, _whatever_.' Naruto said bad temperedly. 'Let's just get a move on.'

As he turned away, he heard Kiba whisper, 'It's like he's pining over a _girl_.'

***

The first performance was that of Tenten's. She threw a dozen hungry knives at another girl standing against a board, and they sparked like lightening in the neon hue of the tent.

Right as she was moving off the ring, Kiba nudged him. 'Now.'

He edged, as discreetly as he could, towards the opening of the tent. The warm air promised rain.

Shikamaru, Neji, Lee and Chouji were already waiting outside.

'Now what?' Kiba asked, emerging behind him.

Shikamaru nodded his head towards the darker side of the grounds, and they all hurried for cover.

'These are probably their personal tents,' Naruto whispered, as they stood, half hidden behind a vermillion tent. 'I doubt if anyone's going to be here right now.'

The grounds were still streaming with people, but no one ventured towards their side. Naruto supposed that this part was off limits to outsiders.

'We should split up,' Neji said in a low voice.

A shadow trembled slightly near the row of trees at the edge of the grounds.

'Guys,' Naruto said, warningly.

'Yeah,' Shikamaru said in an undertone. 'Someone's there. Don't move.'

They waited for a few minutes, crouched behind the stretch of red.

Nothing

'I'm going to check,' Naruto told Kiba.

'Don't be stupid. Do you want to get caught?'

'We can't just sit here forever,' Naruto hissed back. 'Maybe we're just being paranoid.'

He crawled out of the cover and got to his feet slowly. Then, cautiously, he made his way over to the trees.

There didn't seem to be anybody there.

He moved a little closer.

Then it was a déjà vu.

The voice came, from the shadows again, and as frigid as Naruto remembered it.

'Uzumaki Naruto,' and the tone was just as mocking as it had been the last time. 'This was foolish of you.'

Naruto's blood froze in his veins. It felt as though the ground was defying all laws of motion, rooting him to the spot.

Hell. Oh hell.

'Our last meeting wasn't what one would call pleasant, now was it? Maybe we can improvise.'

Kiba and the rest. They had to stay hidden. Naruto had to make a sign.

His heart sank as he heard Kiba call him from the tents, 'Oi, Naruto, enough already. Get back here.

Itachi sounded amused. 'Your friend seems impatient to have you back. I wonder what I should do.'

'Sh-shut up,' Naruto managed. 'Leave them alone. Do whatever to me, but don't touch them.'

Soft chuckling. 'Loyalty. Even more foolish than I thought.'

Naruto held his breath.

'Count of three.' Itachi murmered. 'Count of three, lets see how you make use of it.'

Wait.

'W - what?' Naruto spluttered in disbelief. 'You're letting me g –?'

'One'

Naruto didn't need telling twice. He kicked at the unyielding grass and sprinted towards the tents.

Kiba stepped out, looking hassled. 'Naruto, wha –'

'RUN,' Naruto yelled, and dragged him by the sleeve.

***

A little deeper into the tents, and Naruto realized that they were in a fucking maze.

'Bloody hell,' he grit out.

Shikamaru came to a stop next to him. 'What the _fuck_ was that?'

'Sasuke's br – the guy who shot Sasuke,' Naruto amended quickly, 'is here. He's a psychopath and he has a gun.'

'Shit,' Kiba said weakly, beside him. 'Where the hell did he come from?'

Naruto would give anything to know that as well.

Neji lifted the flap of a tent and peered inside. 'Let's go in here for the time being.'

The interior was pitch black and Naruto could smell the cloying scent of oils and Champa flowers. And maybe incense.

'What I don't understand.' He heard Neji whisper, 'is why this guy is after us.'

'He isn't,' Naruto said, 'that's why he let us go. We probably entertain him.'

'Let's go look for him,' Lee said heatedly. 'How dare he disrespect the vigor of our youth? Let's hunt him down an –'

They almost didn't hear it at first, it was so soft.

'Lee,' Naruto said, 'shh.'

It came again. A soft, lingering hiss.

'What is it?' Kiba asked.

'_Echis carinatus. _More commonly known as the Saw – Scaled viper.'

The voice was smooth, like the underside of a snake's belly, and made all the hair on Naruto's arms prickle.

'Holy fuck.' Kiba muttered, panic layering his voice. 'There's someone else in the tent.'

There was the sound a match being struck, and the first thing that Naruto saw was the gleam of firelight on spectacles.

'Welcome to my circus,' the voice said, silky and cool as before, only not from the direction of the man lighting the candles. 'It's always pleasant to make new acquaintances.'

As his eyes adjusted to the light, Naruto saw another man, pale and smiling, his jet black hair swaying lightly with the draft that blew in through the flap.

'We apologize for barging in like this,' Neji said shortly. 'We didn't kno –'

'Not at all,' the man was still smiling, and the look on his face was positively eerie. 'Let me introduce myself. I'm Orochimaru, the snake charmer. And this is my assistant Kabuto.'

The man named Kabuto was still lighting the candles, his face half hidden by the sheen of his glasses.

This, Naruto thought, felt very, very wrong.

'Now,' Orochimaru said, and twined his fingers together. 'You wanted to know what that was?' He inclined his head slightly towards a closed basket placed upon an unrolled mattress. Naruto recognized it to be the source of the hissing noises. 'Like I was saying, this little guy is the saw-scaled viper. One of the most poisonous snakes in the Indian subcontinent.'

Almost fondly, he added, 'its venom can paralyze you in less than an hour.'

'Naruto,' Neji whispered behind him, 'Something is very –'

'Now,' Orochimaru interrupted. 'I understand that you're looking for some missing children?'

Naruto's heart started pounding so loudly that he wondered if the creepy man could hear it as well. 'You know something about them?'

Orochimaru laughed, low and honeyed. 'Why, yes, I know something about them. In fact, I know more about them than perhaps even you.'

Naruto's brain started reeling.

Kiba said, 'You bastard, it was you!'

'Yes,' Orochimaru agreed. 'It was me.'

'Give the children back to us.' Shikamaru said, and Narulo distractedly marveled at the calm in his voice. 'And we'll leave without causing any trouble.'

Orochimar's smile was feral. 'Oh? But what would be the fun in that?'

'SHUT UP!' Naruto exploded . 'Shut the fuck up, you FREAK.'

'Anger,' Orochimaru said, sounding delighted. 'The fun begins!'

'Let's beat him up,' Lee suggested. 'Lets beat him up now and get over with this!'

'Yeah,' Naruto agreed. 'We're six and you're two. You're at a big disadvantage there, you sick freak.'

'Are you sure about that?' the voice came from behind them and made his heart stop dead in his chest. 'Naruto?'

The moment seemed to freeze.

Then Naruto turned, very slowly, to find Uchiha Sasuke standing at the entrance of the tent, his gun trained directly at him.

***

**To be continued….**

Terms:

**Champa****:** A flower native to the Indian subcontinent.

**Diwali:** Diwali is a significant festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and an official holiday in India. Adherents of these religions celebrate Diwali as the _Festival of Lights_. They light diyas—cotton-like string wicks inserted in small clay pots filled with coconut oil—to signify victory of good over the evil within an individual.

**Author's Notes:***Dodges pitchforks*…..um, feedback?


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: The Hunt (4/4)

**Pairing**: SasuNaru

**Disclaimer**: Don't own.

**Summary**: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.

……

'S-Sasuke?'

Sasuke's face was as blank as slate. The barrel of his gun gleamed softly in the dim light of the room.

There's got to be some mistake, Naruto thought. This isn't real, it's not really happening.

Orochimaru laughed again, and the sound was soft, musical. 'Don't look so troubled. Things are just beginning to get interesting.'

'What's the meaning of this?' Kiba asked through grit teeth. 'Why is Uchiha –'

'Sasuke,' Naruto said, fighting to keep his calm. 'What are you – put that gun down.'

Sasuke took a step forward and said, blandly. 'I don't think you understand the situation very well, Naruto.'

'The FUCK I don't!' Naruto erupted. 'I don't get what you're doing with a gun, or what you're doing with this snake creep, but you're going to fucking STOP it NOW, or I'll make you.'

'Che, this guy talks too much,' a blue haired man walked into the tent followed by a girl wearing spectacles. 'Can I finish him off?'

Naruto watched as Sasuke's jaw tightened slightly. 'Shut up, Suigetsu. There's still work to be done.'

The blue haired man made a face and turned to Orochimaru. 'I can't stand him. He just came in this afternoon and already acts like he's boss. Can't we throw him out?'

Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke, and the look in his eyes made Naruto want to tear things. 'Oh no, Suigetsu. Sasuke is very precious.' Then he cocked his head, looking directly at Naruto. 'Wouldn't you agree?'

'SHUT YOUR FACE,' Naruto yelled. 'And DON'T talk about Sasuke like he's yours.'

Suigetsu snorted. 'Karin, looks like you've got some heavy competition.'

'What the fuck?' Naruto snapped. 'Stop kidding arou-'

'_Naruto_,' he heard Shikamaru hiss behind him. 'For just this once, can you _keep quiet_?'

Naruto shut up but continued to glare at Sasuke.

Orochimaru smiled thinly. 'Pity. I was quite enjoying him. Karin,' he said, turning to the girl. 'Is our first sacrifice ready?'

Karin nodded and poked her head out of the flap. Distinctly, Naruto heard her say, 'Juugo. Bring the brat in.'

A tall man entered, his back slightly crouched as he made his way into the tent. Naruto's breath caught when he got a clear view of what he was carrying in his hands.

'Konohamaru!' he gasped.

The boy was unconscious, but otherwise, he looked healthy enough. Naruto squinted so that he could clearly make out the rise and fall of his chest.

When he made to move forward, Suigetsu said, 'Uh huh. One more step and I'm going to blow a hole right through the kid's head.'

'Fuck you,' Naruto said savagely, and tried to ignore the stinging behind his eyes. 'Fuck you.'

'What have you done to him?' Neji asked, voice tight.

'Nothing at all,' Orochimaru replied silkily. 'We've taken perfectly good care of all them. As a matter of fact, we've probably fed them more food in a month than what they've consumed in their entire lifetimes. We want them to be healthy, you see.'

'Sasuke,' Naruto said desperately. 'What's going on? Talk to me, bastard.'

Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Juugo and Konohamaru.

'Bring the boy to me,' Orochimaru said, eyes glinting. 'I want to touch him.'

Naruto took another involuntary step forward before Chouji reached out and hauled him back. He grit his teeth. 'What the fuck are you going to do to him?'

Orochimaru gave him an indulging smile. The reflection of the candlelight flickered in the mirror of his pale eyes, and Naruto thought, for one wild second, that he was seeing a snake.

'Now that,' he whispered, reaching out to trace one long caress along the side of Konohamaru's face, 'is a very interesting question.'

Juugo lowered the boy in his arms onto the ground, and stepped back, silently.

'You may leave,' Orochimaru said, still looking at Konohamaru. 'Only Sasuke remains. And I want none of you present during the ceremony either. Karin, play the rope jumper's tracks aloud, so that no one hears anything from the forest.'

Naruto heard Suigetsu grumbling under his breath as the three left the tent.

'Why is he unconscious?' Shikamaru asked. 'You could have brought him in awake, just the same.'

'Sssh,' Orochimaru placed a slender finger upon his own lips. 'He's just in a deep sleep. Kabuto's really marvelous at concocting sleeping draughts, you know. These children need all the rest they can get before the ceremony.'

Kabuto remained silent. He was taking out a few Styrofoam cups from a wooden chest lying at the corner of the tent.

'What ceremony?' Naruto growled impatiently. 'What are you talking about?'

Orochimaru smiled, feral. 'Well, if you really want to know.'

In the brief pause that followed, Naruto stole another glimpse at Sasuke. He was standing, very still and very calm.

I won't believe it, Naruto thought, I won't believe it.

'Tell me,' Orochimaru said, intertwining his fingers again, and placing his chin upon them. 'What would you do, if someone offered you immortality?'

Nobody said anything for a moment. Then Shikamaru snapped, '_What_?'

Orochimaru smiled placidly. 'Immortality. To live forever. Like the Gods.'

'Wh – What're you on about?' Naruto spluttered. 'Are you trying to waste our time?'

'Not at all,' Orochimaru replied. 'I am merely trying to explain so that before you pass your judgment, you understand that I was only doing something any other human being would have willingly done, had they been given the power to do so.' He brushed a hand over Konohamaru's collarbone. 'If someone offered you immortality, you would grab it, would you not? I grabbed it. I want to live forever. Death is a petty interference in the great scheme of things. Aging, on the other hand, is vulgar.' He looked around at them, eyes burning with an almost feverish fervor, 'If you could stay young forever, wouldn't you? Wouldn't anyone?'

Naruto gaped at him. 'You're _mental_.'

'You'd think that now, of course,' Orochimaru said, with a sneer. 'Had you had the choice, however, you'd do the same as me. Live forever, like Manasa, like the gods.'

'Manasa?' Shikamaru asked, bewildered. '**Manasa**, as in the snake goddess?'

'Very good,' Orochimaru smiled. 'Yes, the snake Goddess. She showed me the way. It took me some time, of course, but I finally managed to understand. The snakes had been trying to tell me all the while. Don't you see?' he said, his voice lowered to almost a whisper. 'Snakes shedding their skin – reincarnation. Snakes biting their tails – the symbol of eternity. Just like the Lunar cycle – the full moon, the new moon, and the full moon again. And the snake's body, it never becomes older – it merely becomes _newer_.'

'What - ?' Lee said. 'The springtime of youth comes not more than once in a lifetime! One has to make the most of it, and to ask for more is disgraceful! That applies for everybody, including snakes. They die too.'

'Besides,' Kiba snarled, 'What the fuck has this got to do with the kids?'

Orochimaru made a disappointed noise at the back of his throat. 'I was hoping you'd catch up by now. It has _everything_ to do with the children, of course. You see, even though the young man here is right, snakes do die, they don't have the advantage that we humans do. They shed their skins, and emerge with a body which is only new on the _outside_! On the inside, however, they are growing older, just like the rest of the world. But us, we're different. We can go one step ahead of them. We can afford to shed our current bodies, just like a snake. But _unlike_ one, we can acquire a completely new body, a _younger_ one, if we so desire.'

Naruto felt Shikamaru stiffen beside him.

'Look,' he said, exasperated. 'Stop bullshitting, really. We're getting tired of your nonsense.'

'Of course,' Orochimaru said, with a gasp that sounded as phony as his smile. 'How rude of me. Here I am, ranting about snakes and immortality, completely neglecting my guests. Kabuto, where are your manners? Offer them some drinks.'

Automatically, Kabuto picked up a tray and walked over to them. Naruto noted that it carried the Styrofoam cups from earlier.

'Do help yourselves,' Orochimaru said pleasantly. 'Kabuto's drinks are most refreshing.'

'Er, no thanks,' Shikamaru said. 'Chouji, _no_!'

Chouji hastily put his cup back onto the tray.

'But I insist,' Orochimaru pressed. 'Usually, I am not this negligent a host.'

'Look,' Naruto said. 'Cut the crap. NOW.'

Orochimaru lowered his eyes, almost in regret. 'Sasuke.'

Next thing he knew, Sasuke was beside Konohamaru's immobile body, pressing the barrel of his gun to the boy's forehead.

'NO,' Naruto yelled, 'SASUKE, NO.'

Sasuke stared back with expressionless eyes.

Again, Orochimaru said, 'I _insist_.'

This man, Naruto thought, panicked, was crazy. And dangerous, but more evidently, crazy.

_What was he doing to the kids?_

Naruto took another look at Konohamaru, at his healthy complexion, and even breathing, before reaching out for a cup and taking a sip of the cool, clear liquor inside.

It was sweet, and, Naruto was sure, as sure as this being the worst situation he had ever gotten himself into, spiked.

'Now where was I?' Orochimaru continued, as though the interruption hadn't occurred. 'Ah, yes. It dawned upon me that if I wanted to shed this body and get a younger one, I would need children, of course. Many children, because not all will be compatible with me. However,' His voice turned distressed. 'I haven't been able to find my perfect match yet. I've hunted far and wide, but to no avail.' He walked towards the mattress, and took the basket in his hands. 'So after an extended string of failures, I decided to come back to Konoha, the place where I started my quest, twelve long years ago.'

Naruto's blood turned cold. He still didn't understand what this guy was trying to say, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. It couldn't be good at all, because he was clearly insane, and it terrified him.

Next to him, Shikamaru was whispering, 'No, God _no_. It can't be…'

'What?' Naruto asked him, feeling a little obscure. 'I still don't know what he's saying, only that he's mad.'

Shikamaru was shaking slightly. It scared Naruto because Shika was _always_ calm.

'Don't you get it?' Shikamaru whispered. 'Don't you get it? _He's a __**necromancer**_.'

Naruto stopped breathing.

No. NO.

'You _sick_ pervert!' He wanted to yell, to scream the bloody circus down, but his head was spinning, and _God_, Naruto thought, the drinks! 'You, sick, disgusting, twisted – '

'But you'd do the same.' Orochimaru said, sounding almost bemused. 'Why wouldn't you? Imagine yourself acquiring a new body. When that one gets old, you can get _another_ one. All you have to do is find someone compatible with you, and then it's an endless, beautiful cycle! Just like that of the moon.'

Naruto didn't even know when he had launched forward, all he was aware of was the clawing _need_ to tear this guy apart and then do it again and again until all that was left of him was the dust. He felt someone pull him back by his shirt and hold him in a death grip while he struggled.

'Naruto,' he heard Lee say. 'Naruto, _no_!'

'You see?' Orochimaru said, smiling sweetly. 'You wanted to kill me right now, didn't you? Murder is not that extraordinary a task, invoking the will to do it is. We all have it within us. The only difference between you and me is that I asphyxiate my victims on a full moon night, and you would rather beat me to death.'

'SHUT UP!' Naruto bellowed. 'WE HAVE _NOTHING_ IN COMMON YOU SICK PIECE OF SHIT!'

Orochimaru frowned. 'I dislike people looking down on me. You shouldn't have said that, really!'

With that he carefully lifted the lid off the basket. Naruto blanched when he saw a scaled head emerge, followed by a glistening body adorned with patchy rings.

'His name is Manda,' Orochimaru said, softly. 'Watch.'

He drew a flute out from the folds of his robe and gently brought it to his mouth.

Seconds later, poignant, haunting music drifted into the air, filling the tent, and the remains of Naruto's working mind.

Through a haze, he noticed the snake twist smoothly, till its mouth took in a fraction of the tail, and then he saw it – a loose, graceful circle.

The last thing he remembered before passing out, was the reptile unfolding itself, and climbing up the length of Orochimaru's body before it disappeared into the sleeve of his robes.

***

The fire was not just in his dream anymore, it was in his body; his head, his throat, the back of his eyelids. It was trying to tell him something, Naruto felt sure, but he couldn't, for the life of him, fathom what.

Sasuke, he reflected. Sasuke. But what about him?

The flames covered him like an amorous blanket, telling him that one day, he would understand.

***

When he came to, his head was splitting. As the white faded from his vision, he made out the conical shape of the ceiling of a tent above him. It smelled of dirt and must, and through a dull cloud of diminished senses, he realized that he couldn't feel his arms or legs.

'Are you up, yet?' came Shikamaru's drained voice from his left. 'You've been dozing forever.'

Naruto took a few deep gulps of air to lessen the spinning in his head.

'Where's Sasuke?' he asked.

From someplace around the vicinity of his foot, he heard Kiba snort. 'C'mon Naruto, where do you think the lying bastard is?'

Naruto shook his head fervently, even though he knew that nobody would be able to see him. 'No, there's been some…Sasuke wouldn't.'

He heard an exasperated sigh. Neji. 'Naruto, that's just it. Sasuke _did_. We all saw him hold the gun to Konohamaru's head.'

Naruto winced at the memory.

'Where are the kids?' he asked, trying to scramble up, only to find his hands tied up behind his back. 'Fuck.'

Neji sighed again. 'Naruto, wake up already, idiot. The kids are right next to you.'

'WHAT?' Naruto craned his neck to the right. 'Holy shit.'

Minako was lying right next to him, unconscious, like Konohamaru, but otherwise unharmed. Naruto could make out the outlines of other figures behind her.

'I suppose they'll be coming over to take them in sometime.' Shikamaru said. 'It's nearly midnight.'

'Huh?' Naruto said. 'For what?'

'The _ceremony_,' Shikamaru replied irritably. 'Didn't you hear him? It's full moon tonight, the hour of supposed fertility, the end of another lunar cycle. Of course, he'll want to take them now.'

Kiba said, his voice scratchy, 'When you say take them, do you mean…?'

When nobody answered the question, he said, 'right.'

Naruto felt sick.

'I don't believe this,' he whispered. 'Which disgusting pervert would –?'

'Actually,' Shikamaru corrected. 'Lots of them. Necromancy's been practiced since the high middle ages. People used to do it as a sort of worship at first, then it became all about demonology, spiritualism and invoking spirits. Trying to channel your own spirit into another body through necromancy, though, is extremely rare, almost unheard of.'

'He thinks the snakes are going to show him the way,' Kiba said, with an almost perverse kind of awe. 'This guy is clinically insane!'

'Well, of course it doesn't work,' Shikamaru said reasonably. 'Necromancy, divination – these terms have never really been scientifically proven. But I suppose the people in villages, slums and apparently, circuses still believe in them. Witch hunting still exists, doesn't it, so I suppose this shouldn't surprise us all that much. That's why, when his experiments fail, Orochimaru refuses to believe that there may be some flaws in his method, and instead attributes it to the theory that the child's body in question isn't compatible with his spirit.'

'So he plans to continue doing this forever?' Lee asked, sounding horrified. 'Cheating children of their youth just because he's under the impression that one day, he's going to find the correct match for his soul?'

'Probably,' Shikamaru concluded. 'And don't forget, supposing he does find the right body, he's going to start looking for another as soon as that one ages physically.'

Naruto tried to swallow the bile rising in his throat. Oh God, he thought, _Haku_.

Haku, and Zabuza who had been killed trying to find him.

'Tell me,' he said, voice hoarse as he stared at Minako's sleeping form. 'Apart from…_fucking_ the corpses, is there any other technique he could have been using?'

Shikamaru seemed to consider this. 'I don't really know all that much about the subject, only what Yamamoto's mother told me when she was talking about her village. Sometimes, it's a matter of simple meditation in order to invoke a spirit. Other cases might involve full fledged rituals involving dances, chanting hymns and stuff which might not even require the physical presence of a corpse. Um, there are also times when people drink the blood, or directly eat the body parts. But since this is a case of spirit channeling from one body to another, it will, in all probability, include intercourse.'

'Once I get out of this,' Naruto vowed, tugging at his bonds, 'I'm going to _kill him_.'

There was a shuffling sound as the flap was lifted from outside and Sasuke's head came into sight.

'Sasuke!' Naruto breathed. 'Sasuke, what – '

He stopped short when Kabuto entered behind Sasuke.

'Listen,' Neji said. 'Before you do this, just listen. There has to be some sort of negotiation that you'll find acceptable.'

Kabuto spared them a fleeting glance, and the slice of moonlight peering in through the gap in the entrance fashioned a shimmering patina on his lenses. Then he turned to haul Chiyo and Raidou over both his shoulders.

Naruto's head started reeling. Sasuke was right next to him trying to adjust Minako in his grip without waking her up from whatever state of oblivion she had been put into, and he smelled just like earlier in the afternoon, and _fuck_ what everyone else believed, because Naruto was sure that Sasuke was up to something more than assisting pedophilic necromancers achieve eternal youth.

He had to be.

'Sasuke,' he whispered so that Kabuto wouldn't hear. 'Itachi's here.'

He waited for the slight tensing of Sasuke's shoulders. There was none.

'You've got to help us, bastard'

When there was no response, he shifted, so that he was closer to Sasuke, keeping one eye on Kabuto all the while. 'Listen, asshole,' he muttered, 'I don't believe you're with them so quit fooling around. Just hurry and do something because otherwise it might be too la – '

He broke off when he felt something cold and sharp press into his side.

Neji was still talking. 'And you can tell your boss that if it's a matter of money, we'll talk to Jiraiya and think of something if you just gave us a week or so…'

Naruto watched silently as Sasuke lifted Morisuka gently with his other hand, and without a single glance at Naruto, proceeded to walk towards the exit.

'Uchiha,' Shikamaru said, and there was desperation in his voice that Naruto had never heard before. 'Please.'

Without a pause, Sasuke followed Kabuto straight out of the tent.

'Fuck him,' Kiba snarled, thrashing wildly against the bonds. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_. Now what do we do, goddamnit?'

The sound of loud, sprightly music suddenly filled the night. Probably Karin following Orochimaru's order.

'We save them, of course,' Naruto said, smiling through a rush of adrenalin, as he felt his ropes slicing neatly under the knife Sasuke had left him.

***

'How much further?' Neji asked, as they groped their way through the overgrowth of bushes and banyan trees, any light from the moon completely blocked out by the impenetrable canopy of leaves above them.

'Can't be much,' Naruto said, panting. 'It's not really a forest, just an unclaimed patch of land nobody's bothered to tame.'

'We should look out for a clearing or something,' Shikamaru said. 'Someplace large enough to carry out a ceremony without making it too sloppy.'

The music stopped for a brief second, and they all deadpanned, afraid that they had been heard. Then it started all over again, the same track replaying itself.

'This music's getting on my nerves.' Kiba complained. 'If she doesn't play some other tune next, I'm going to – '

'Shhh,' Lee flailed his arms, gesturing for them to shut up. 'What's that?'

'Wha – ' Naruto scrambled forward to see what Lee was pointing at. 'Oh hell, guys.'

Still half hidden by a curtain of foliage was a small campfire. The five children were placed on the forest floor, one angled slightly away from the other so that they lay in a sort of circle around the fire.

Naruto edged closer to the clearing, and heard Shikamaru whisper warningly, 'careful. Don't make any rash moves.'

He stopped when he was close enough to hear them.

'…had been five, it would not have been a problem,' Orochimaru was saying. Naruto thought he sounded slightly pissed. 'But we can't use the one with the leg problem. I don't want a defected body.'

'Oh,' Shikamaru said softly. 'Of course. Raidou's got polio.'

'I apologise,' Kabuto said, silently, and Naruto realized that this was the first time he was hearing the man speak. 'Suigetsu made a mistake in the dark.'

'Well, he's useless.' Orochimaru stated, the firelight throwing the smooth lines of his face into sharp relief. 'Kabuto, get rid of him.'

Naruto froze.

'Shit,' Kiba whispered, panicked, as Kabuto calmly withdrew a gun from his pocket, and pointed it at Raidou. 'Should we –?'

Sasuke's voice interrupted him.

'We could do that after the ceremony,' he said.

Naruto wanted to hug him.

'True,' Orochimaru agreed, inclining his head. 'But we could also do it now. I'd much rather, we did. It would excite me even more.'

'It would be messy,' Sasuke argued, and Naruto thought he saw a slight tensing in his jaw. 'And unnecessary.'

Orochimaru smiled thinly. 'Are you backing out, Sasuke? All because of a little blood?'

'No,' Sasuke replied defiantly, 'Of course, not.'

'Very well. Go ahead, Kabuto.'

Then three things happened at the same time.

Kabuto fired a shot.

Sasuke leapt in front of Raidou.

Naruto sprinted into the clearing.

He saw Orochimaru's eyes widen for a split second before he launched himself at him. Seconds later, Naruto had the man pinned beneath him, and he let himself enjoy a quick look at the naked fear in his eyes, before he lifted his fist and brought it crashing down into his face.

Orochimaru gazed back at him, blooding escaping his split lip in spurts, and started laughing.

Naruto punched him again.

'WHAT the FUCK is so funny?'

He understood what when he felt the hardness of metal touch the back of his head. A gun.

'Nobody move,' he heard Kabuto announce behind him. 'Or he dies.'

Fear coursed through his veins like poison. If he died now he wouldn't be able to save anyone. Kabuto would kill the others after him, and then perhaps, Sakura and the rest if they came along with back up. He would never get to see Konohamaru awake again, Kiba would never get to marry Hinata, he would never worry Iruka, or hide Sasuke's stupid shower gel…

He glanced at his surroundings. Kiba and the rest had run out behind him, obviously seeing no other option once Naruto had blown their cover. They were standing, frozen, about ten feet away from where the children lay.

So if Naruto could distract Kabuto long enough, the rest could use the time to run forward and cover up the kids. One of them, possibly Lee, could even knock the gun out of Kabuto's hands. It was a bit ambitious, yes, but given current circumstances….

'It's no use,' he said, forcing himself to concentrate on Orochimaru's grinning face instead of his sinking heart. 'We've been here for ages, people are bound to come for us with back up.'

Move, he thought, watching Shikamaru out of the corner of his eyes. _Move_!

The gun dug deeper into his skull. 'It won't work,' Kabuto said smoothly. 'Whatever you're planning, it won't work. Now say your prayers while I decide which one I should kill first. You or Sasuke.'

Oh God, Sasuke. Sasuke had been shot!

He couldn't see Sasuke from his angle, no matter how much he twisted his head. But, he thought, if he tried hard enough, he could smell blood.

'Idiot,' he heard Sasuke croak behind him. 'You should have attacked Kabuto. He had the gun. You're such a complete moron.'

Hearing Sasuke talk to him again, even if it was just to insult him, made Naruto want to cry.

'You're the moron,' he shot back instead, closing his eyes so that he could picture Sasuke's glare in the place of Orochimaru's mocking eyes. 'You got shot twice in two days!'

'While all this is very touching,' Kabuto interrupted icily, 'It really is time to bid goodby –'

Another shot rang out into the night, and Kiba yelled, 'NARUTO!'

Then there was a loud thud behind him and Naruto felt the barrel of Kabuto's gun sliding away from his scalp.

In the second of confusion that ensued, Naruto thought, _I'm alive_?

Then Orochimaru screamed, wild and furious.

Naruto spun around to find Kabuto lying motionless on the grass, a hole in the centre of his forehead bleeding crimson onto his skewed glasses.

A few feet away from him Sasuke was struggling to sit up, his palm pressed onto the fresh bullet wound on his left forearm, and staring at the Kabuto's dead body in bewilderment.

Bewilderment which soon turned to comprehension as soon as he lifted his gaze to a spot beyond Naruto's shoulder.

'Naruto,' he whispered urgently, through pale, insipid lips. 'Get away.'

'What?' Naruto asked, perplexed.

'Uzumaki Naruto,' he heard a different voice say behind him, and for the second time that night his heart stopped dead in his chest as he turned to find an Uchiha pointing a gun at him.

'Uzumaki Naruto,' Uchiha Itachi said again, 'You happen to be sitting on my prey.'

His words registered slowly, but surely. Naruto looked down at Orochimaru who had begun to struggle beneath him, and then at Itachi.

'Oh, uh,' he said uncertainly, removing himself from on top of the man. 'Sorry, I guess?'

Orochimaru squirmed away from him and sat up, hunched, to look at Itachi.

'I remember you,' he hissed, a cruel smile curling his bloodless lips. 'Itachi. Sasuke here was very anxious to meet you.'

Naruto felt Sasuke shift uncomfortably behind him. Itachi's face remained expressionless.

'Pathetic, really,' Orochimaru continued, 'that someone sold by his own relative, unwanted in his family, could manage to escape me twelve years ago. You were the lucky one, you know. You were going to be my first sacrifice.'

Naruto gasped. Behind him, Sasuke inhaled sharply.

'You can kill me now,' Orochimaru said, his laughter a low grumble in his voice. 'But you're going to die too. You know that, don't you?'

'Nonetheless,' Itachi said, his voice like ice, 'you don't get to look at my face while I do.'

With that, he fired.

Orochimaru didn't fall immediately; his body remained suspended in space for a short, graceful moment. When it hit the ground, a splatter of blood stained the grass red.

There was a short silence, before Kiba muttered, 'Holy fuck.'

Itachi turned his dark, opaque eyes onto Sasuke.

'Naruto,' Sasuke said, picking up Kabuto's fallen gun. 'Get back.'

Naruto turned to Sasuke and took in his wounds, his face, colourless from the blood loss, and the determination in his eyes. 'You're bleeding, Sas –'

'I said _move_.' Sasuke didn't take his eyes of Itachi. 'This is _my_ battle. I've got to fight it alone.'

From a distance, he heard Kiba say, 'C'mon man, move back.'

Slowly, Naruto did.

Itachi said, 'It's your turn, little brother. Do you honestly think you can defeat me in the state that you are now?'

'Shut up,' Sasuke barked. 'What did he mean? What did he mean sold by your own relatives? Why did he say you're going to die?'

Itachi lowered his eyes. 'If you're backing down –'

'_Fuck you_!' Sasuke shouted. 'Stop kidding around with me, Itachi. Tell me what he meant.'

Without a word Itachi lifted his gun and fired.

Sasuke dodged it, and his countering bullet hit Itachi in the stomach.

'What the _hell_?' Sasuke screamed. 'You didn't even aim! I've worked for twelve years to make myself stronger, take me SERIOUSLY!'

Itachi looked directly at Sasuke's face for a tense moment, before crumpling to the ground.

For a second, Sasuke simply stood, gun still aimed at where Itachi had been standing, shell shocked, as though he had no idea what to do.

Then Naruto saw it. Slithering across the clearing, with the firelight reflecting upon its scales, like jewels, making its way towards Orochimaru's still body.

'Sasuke,' he shouted. 'Orochimaru's snake. He's been bitten.'

There was a blur, and then Sasuke was bending over Itachi, shock and fear etched on his face.

Naruto supposed that's what Orochimaru had meant. He had probably sent his snake over to Itachi while there was all the disarray over Kabuto's death.

Itachi said, 'Since you failed this time, I thought you'd like to know. It was Madara.'

Sasuke's eyes widened, and for a long moment, no one said anything.

Itachi smiled grimly, and said 'Well?'

And then, at snail's pace, he lifted his hand, extended an index and a middle finger.

Poked Sasuke in the forehead.

Sasuke's eyes widened even further, almost to comic proportions. Then, slowly, he brought his gun up, hands steady upon the cold weapon.

The shot that was fired coloured his face in his brother's blood.

Later, when the rain finally came and washed the red away, Naruto saw, in his smile, peace like he had never seen before.

***

'And then,' Naruto said, to a wide eyed Konohamaru. 'I punched him right in his face. You should have _seen_ him. Screamed like a girl!'

There was a snort, and Naruto turned to find Sasuke looking diligently away as Tsunade worked on his newest bullet wound.

'What, bastard?' he snapped. 'I _did_!'

'Hn,' Sasuke replied, smirking. 'You mean right before you had Kabuto's gun attached to your head?'

Sasuke was propped against a wall this time, and something about the hard glint in his eyes made Naruto wish that it was him supporting him again, like the last time.

'You're done.' Tsunade said, her tone clipped. 'And don't come back here again. Honestly, two bullets in two days. Pchah.'

'That's what _I_ told him,' Naruto said smugly. 'But he probably thinks it's _cool_.'

Tsunade redirected her glare onto him. 'You better keep your mouth shut too, brat. Sneaking off with the boys without telling Iruka or me. And get out of my room if you're just going to sit here spinning tales. I have plenty of other patients to attend to.'

'Hey,' Naruto whined, indignant. 'I'm _not _spinning tales.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes and got to his feet.

'Where are you going?' Naruto asked immediately.

Sasuke gave him a brooding glance. 'Out,' and with that he stalked towards the door.

Naruto scrambled up, and promising Konohamaru that he'd complete his story another day, made towards Sasuke.

Kakashi blocked the doorway.

'Hello there,' he said, eye crinkling into a smile. 'You seem to be in a hurry.'

Naruto scowled at him. 'Actually, I am. And you're in the way.'

'Ah,' Kakashi smiled. 'Young lo –'

'Say it,' Naruto hissed. 'And I'm going to _kill _you.'

Kakashi cocked his head slightly. 'Well, I suppose you should know,' he said, voice pleasant. 'Uchiha Sasuke isn't the sort of person to take a bullet for someone he has known for less than twelve hours.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'What're you trying to tell me?'

Kakashi just smiled benignly.

It took a few seconds. Then Naruto's jaw dropped.

***

Naruto sighed as he saw Sasuke pretending to sleep on _his_ side of the floor.

'You know,' he said. 'You're pretending to sleep on my side of the floor.'

Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

'I wasn't pretending to sleep,' he said angrily. 'I was _trying_ to sleep. I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning.'

Naruto nodded understandingly, 'Of course. Now you're planning to chase that other guy, aren't you? What was his name? Madara.'

Sasuke shoved at him with his good arm. 'None of your damn business. Go away.'

Naruto shoved him back. 'I think it is my damn business. Because I'm coming with you.'

Sasuke stared at him, startled. 'What?'

Naruto took the opportunity to brush Sasuke's bangs out of his eyes, and felt the other go completely still under his touch.

'I'm coming with you,' he repeated. 'Whether you like it or not.'

Sasuke frowned. 'No, you're not.'

Naruto hummed and looked towards his ceiling, trying not to smile as Sasuke got worked up next to him.

'No, seriously,' Sasuke said. 'You're not. I've told you before, this is my battle. I've got to fight it alone.'

'Why did you jump in front of Raidou?'

Sasuke blinked at the sudden change of topic. 'What do you mean, why?'

Naruto moved his hand so that it was no longer in Sasuke's hair, but was cupping the side of his face. 'You did it for me, didn't you?'

'Of course not,' Sasuke said automatically, and Naruto thought that he had never seen the other man so flustered. 'Stop being delusional.'

Naruto bent down and kissed him.

At first, kissing a man didn't feel so different from kissing a girl. Naruto moved his lips gently as Sasuke made a surprised sound at the back of his throat, applying just enough pressure that their mouths were barely touching.

Sasuke's lips were warm, dry and slightly chapped.

And then kissing a man became completely different from his sloppy first kiss at Jiraiya's and the few tries he had had afterwards. Kissing a man became all about Sasuke making a frustrated noise, opening his mouth wide under Naruto's and pulling him by the front of his shirt so that they were aligned, sharp planes and angles against one another, uncomfortable, slightly painful, and so fucking hot, that Naruto never wanted to let go.

Sasuke tasted of tea and desperation, and Naruto explored every inch of the flavour because it was the best damn thing he had ever tasted in his entire life.

'I'm coming with you,' he murmured against Sasuke's lips before licking a hot, wet trail down his throat and biting into a collarbone.

'Moron,' Sasuke's fingers tightened in his hair. 'You are not.'

'Am too,' Naruto said, ripping open a few shirt buttons and pressing his tongue down on a nipple. When Sasuke jerked, he added, 'you want me to.'

Then, looking straight into his glaring eyes, Naruto smirked and ground his palm, achingly slow, into Sasuke's denim clad erection.

That was how three minutes later found them with Naruto's mouth upon Sasuke's cock, and Sasuke stifling a stream of obscenities by chewing down on the edge of Sakura's sari.

Naruto licked a slow stripe down the underside of Sasuke's cock. Then when he figured Sasuke wasn't looking, he quickly tangled their fingers together.

***

Being fucked, Naruto thought, should not have felt this good. Especially because Sasuke was clearly the girl in the relationship. He made noises like one, funny little moans and groans and whimpers, and Naruto was on top of him too, it was like bottoming, only from the top and–

And then Sasuke slammed into Naruto again, and he thought _fuck_, maybe not that much of a girl.

He traced the lines of Sasuke's arched neck with his eyes, his wide, strong shoulders, the muscles of his arms, his chest, his stomach, and then he looked back into Sasuke's eyes because they were _ablaze_ and alive and full of fire, and Naruto would not lose this, _could_ not lose this, not when he had gotten hooked beyond belief.

He leaned forward, just before he came and pressed his face into the side of Sasuke's neck, inhaling the scent he had grown so familiar with in the past two weeks.

And when Sasuke came, he turned his face and swallowed the stupid girly noises.

***

After that, Sasuke really tried.

'My brother killed my entire family,' he said, gaze burning into Naruto's. 'I never did understand why. I've been chasing him all over the country for twelve years now.' He drew in a harsh breath when Naruto took his index finger into his mouth, and swirled his tongue around it. 'I started noticing the missing children only a while back. They'd be on the news whenever Itachi went into a new state. At first I thought it was him kidnapping them, as some sort of twisted new hobby, even though that seemed highly unlikely. I didn't even connect the dots and realize that Itachi followed Sound wherever it went, not until Kakashi took us there yesterday.'

Naruto recalled Kakashi saying that he had seen Sasuke in the South when Sound had been there. So it turned out that Sasuke had only been following Itachi.

'That's why I went over to them today, to find out what connection Itachi had with Sound. I met Suigetsu and he took me over to Orochimaru. Orochimaru…I think he liked me. Told me that he knew my brother and that he was the only one who had ever managed to escape him. So I told Orochimaru that Itachi was out to kill him, and that I was his only chance at staying alive. I figured that my bluff was close enough to the truth. At any rate, if Itachi found out I was in Sound as well, he was bound to come in.'

Sasuke's eyes softened when Naruto took the digit out of his mouth and kissed it.

'I never understood why my brother killed my family. Or why he didn't simply walk into Sound before, as easily as he did this time, and finish Orochimaru off. Maybe he had been waiting for me to catch up. I wouldn't know because…I've never really been good at understanding my brother.' Sasuke lowered his eyes. 'But today, for the first time in my life, I think that maybe I can be, if I try. Itachi killed my family because he thought they were all behind Madara. Madara, on the other hand, took all the money he got after selling Itachi to Orochimaru, and ran for it. Do you understand now?' he asked, taking his hand away. 'Do you understand why I have to find Madara, and do it on my own? I'm saying this again, I have to fight this battle _alone_.'

Naruto shifted a little closer to Sasuke. 'No,' he said calmly. 'Itachi was the battle you had to fight alone. And you did that. I'm coming with you for Madara, and you can't change my mind.'

Sasuke's face shuttered. 'Why?'

'Because now I finally get what the dreams mean,' Naruto told him. 'I've been blocking them out for as long as I remember, but now I understand why I've been having them. They wouldn't have meant anything if I hadn't met you, and if all this hadn't happened, but it _did_. And you can't ask me to ignore them now.'

'You're going to follow me to the ends of the world,' Sasuke said, with one eyebrow raised. 'Because you had a couple of dreams.'

'No,' Naruto said, grinning. 'There's also the sex. The sex is awesome. You still have to blow me.'

Sasuke stared at him for a long time, 'You're a retard. You really are.'

Naruto slid a hand down his chest, fingers brushing lightly over Sasuke's nipples. 'And you're a bastard.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes, even as his cock expressed an acute interest in the wanderings of Naruto's fingers. 'A bastard who's going to be feeding you from now on, you penniless tramp, so you better show your gratitude.'

***

They left early the next morning, even before the first **bhajan** started in the temple.

'Did I leave a note for everyone?' Naruto wondered worriedly. 'Iruka, Jiraiya, Kiba and the guys, Konohamaru, Sakura –'

'Yes,' Sasuke said grumpily. 'I assure you that you did. You kept me up the entire night, making me write stupid, corny letters to your entire slum! How appalling.'

Naruto smirked. 'That's not the only thing I made you do.'

Sasuke scowled and turned away.

Naruto took a last look at Konoha, at the tin roofs and the wet cement of the walls, the empty kebab stall, and Tsunade's chipped wooden door, the lane towards Jiraiya's, and the window which Sakura must have thrown open in the night to let some air in, the maidan....

He felt a surge of melancholy rise in his chest.

Sasuke was watching him closely. 'You don't have to do this, you know, you really –'

Naruto shut him up with a kiss.

'We're coming back, remember?' he said, with a smile. 'As soon as all this is over, we're coming back.'

Sasuke nodded, but he still looked uncertain, so Naruto kissed him again.

'Good morning,' A voice chirped right beside them, and Naruto turned to see Kakashi leaning against his rickshaw.

'YOU,' he yelled, and Sasuke had to clamp a hand over his mouth, before he woke the whole slum.

Kakashi inclined his head. 'Me. Looks like the two of you could do with a ride?'

'How did you,' Sasuke asked, frowning, before he changed his mind. '_God_, never mind. Yes, we need a ride.'

'This guy,' Naruto whispered into Sasuke's ear as the rickshaw rattled over the hard streets of the city. 'Is creepy. He knows _everything_.'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in agreement.

'But lets look at the bright side,' Naruto said, excitedly, 'we can ask him about all the places which sell good noodles in the country. Then you can feed me there. I'm so lucky your parent's left you rich.'

'…Go die in a fire.'

Naruto sniffed indignantly. 'Why do you always have to ruin the moment?'

'The moment?' Sasuke asked, all faux indifference. 'I wasn't aware we were having a moment.'

Naruto resisted the urge to hit him.

***

**THE END**

**Manasa: **Manasa is a Hindu folk goddess of snakes, worshipped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and also for fertility and prosperity.

**Necromancy:**Necromancy is a form of divination in which the practitioner seeks to summon "operative spirits" or "spirits of divination", for multiple reasons, from spiritual protection to wisdom. There are various methods of Necromancy which have evolved over the ages.

**Bhajans:** A **Bhajan** is any type of Indian devotional song.

**Author's note:** Finally done. Writing this chapter disturbed me a little bit…(it got too creepy, didn't it?), but HAH! Feels good to finish off with the heavy stuff. Maybe I'll revert back to humour for sometime now.

Hope you enjoyed! And thanks for all the feedback.


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